Who She Deserves
by Crimson Tranquility
Summary: Those cerulean blue eyes seemed to follow him everywhere, haunting him in his loneliest hours. After Heero leaves Relena for a mission, her and Trowa begin a relationship. But when the stoic pilot finally returns, who will Relena choose?
1. The Day the World Turned Upside Down

**Author's Note:** Hey everyone! This is my first Gundam Wing fic of many I hope! Anyway, let me know what you think of it and I hope you enjoy it! Make sure to review and let me know if I should continue with it! It'll really make my day :D

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gundam Wing.

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**Chapter 1: The Day the World Turned Upside Down**

"Wait! Where will you go, Heero? You promised that it was done. That you didn't need to kill anymore!" Relena Peacecraft's voice rang through the empty room. It had been almost 6 months since the Mariemaia incident. After the entire thing, Heero had joined the Preventors and was Relena's personal bodyguard. She had thought _that_ was his assignment until now. Until now when he was standing in front of her in her entrance way, telling her that he was leaving. Tonight.

Heero Yuy held his emotions inside of him. He closed his eyes in order to keep his focus. Plus he couldn't stand to look at the heartbreaking expression on Relena's face anymore, the look made it seem as if she would break when he left. He couldn't stand it. Relena's rosy complexion usually held a beautiful smile on her face while she was with Heero.

She had really grown up since the time he first met her. Right now her honey blond hair just touched her shoulders. She had decided to cut it a couple of weeks ago because she wanted to see if Heero noticed anything different about her.

It worked of course. That night he had walked Relena home to her door as usual while he searched the estate's premises for enemies. When they had reached her porch, he carefully took her hand in his and pulled her up the stairs. Her face was full of shock as Heero had leaned in and kissed her cheek. _"You are beautiful, Relena. You don't have to change a thing" _was what he had whispered to her before jumping lithely down the porch. She stood still as a statue as she watched him disappear before placing her hand on her warm cheek. She smiled as she opened the door slowly and waited for Heero to come in as he usually did. After that day, Relena's smile was plastered to her face whenever she was with Heero.

Relena was still only 16 years old, but she still knew she loved the boy in front of her. She stared desperately at the boy in front of her. His Prussian blue eyes were hidden from her behind his eyelids. His posture was stiff as he stood in her doorway, leaning against the door. _How could she let him go_? The boy was strong for his age, his body was lean yet muscular and his messy chocolate brown hair held the water drip lets from outside since was raining.

He had walked her home as usual and as she unlocked the door and walked in, he had gone around the premises, making sure everything was safe for her. Then he would have walked into the door, like he always did as Relena jumped on a couch in the library to read a book. That was how they spent their evenings most of the time. Heero would come into the library telling Relena everything was safe. Most of the time she felt as if he was confirming this to himself than to her. He did that a lot. She almost laughed. It was probably from having so many years of getting missions and such. He always seemed like he was giving her a report, as if she was his superior who had called him into her office.

But she soon found that there was nothing ordinary about tonight. Relena had distinctly heard the door open and then close. She was used to Heero's shoes making no noise so she wasn't worried when she didn't hear anything else. But after 5 minutes, Heero didn't come into the library. Frowning slightly, Relena grumbled as she set her book aside and walked to the foyer.

"Heero, I can't believe you're making me get up! You know just how horrible my day has been today. Demetri would not stop talking about the upcoming reception dinner to be given on his behalf! I thought I would die of boredom or wouldn't…-" she stopped abruptly, mid-sentence. Heero stood leaning against the door, his eyes staring at her, his expression blank.

"What is it, Heero? Is someone here?" Relena could help but notice how guarded his eyes were. As if he was trying to hide something from her. She shuddered lightly. He hadn't looked like that in a long time. Heero had really opened up to Relena. On nights when Relena didn't want to sleep, her and Heero stayed up all night talking. She would tell him about her day and ask all she could about him. Most of the time he would respond in the smallest response possible. But sometimes he would look straight at her and answer her question in the best way possible. Relena even remembered a few times when she had nightmares and made Heero climb into her bed with her. She would awake, screaming for her father or her brother, Milliardo. Heero would be at her side in an instant, asking her what was wrong. As she would sob, Heero would sit down on her bed, taking the Princess into his arms. After thoroughly ruining his shirt with her tears, Relena begged Heero to stay with her. Complying with her every wish, Heero would pull himself up on the king sized bed and lean against the headboard as he shifted Relena into his arms. After he would come to stay with her, she did not have nightmares.

They had gotten close. That part was certain. But now, the way he was staring at her, Relena couldn't help but think back to the time she had handed him an invitation to her birthday party. He looked at her with no expression on his beautiful face.

"You are safe. I cannot stay tonight. I am leaving on a mission. You will not see me again." His voice held no emotion, no remorse. Nothing.

Relena stared at the boy, laughing nervously. "What are you talking about? Very funny, Heero, but you're my bodyguard, you can't just leave me!" Her voice held a note of hysteria in it as she looked at Heero's serious look.

"You will get another bodyguard. You will always be protected," he promised her firmly. "I am leaving on a mission tonight. Trowa will be here to watch over you for the remainder of the night." His look held honesty in it. There was no hint of anything else.

"I will always be protected?" Her voice was surprisingly bitter. "How is that possible, with you leaving?!"

He looked away from her. He couldn't stand to see her like this. Tears had gathered in her deep cerulean eyes. It seemed she was unaware of them, or anything for that matter. She only focused on him. "There are plenty of bodyguards available. If you feel unsafe, I can have Lady Une or Sally assign some more guards to you."

"That's not what I meant! You leaving will hurt me more than any other danger. More than a bomb. More than a gun. More than any enemy. My world will turn upside down!" She was begging now. She knew it was pathetic but she couldn't see herself without him. Relena rushed forward and threw her arms around Heero's neck, burying her face in his masculine chest.

Heero could feel himself losing control. He felt the urge to wrap his arms around her thin frame and crush her body to him. He wanted to tell her that he would stay with her. But that was not possible.

With strong hands, Heero deftly pulled Relena's arms away from his neck, pinning her wrists to her side.

Her face held all the horror she felt inside as she saw him looking at her strangely, as if he was trying to memorize her face. His words suddenly echoed in her mind. _'You will not see me again.'_

When she spoke, her voice was strained as she attempted to hold back the sobs that threatened to mute her voice. "When will you return, Heero?" Relena was surprised to hear that her voice held something else in it. She realized she figured out the answer to her question before she had even finished asking it.

He gauged her reaction carefully. "I will not return."

Relena nodded her head without being conscious of her movements. It was as if her body was detached from her. She barely realized that she had sunk to the ground.

She was however, aware of the fact that Heero had not said her name at all during their conversation. It was as if he was trying to save her more pain because he must have known. _He had to know that saying her name would bring back all of her memories of their time together_. But she had to hear it. Relena needed to hear his beautiful voice say her name. She needed to see his perfect lips open to say her name.

Heero couldn't stand it any longer. He knew it was going to be hard. But this… this was unbearable. He couldn't even walk up to her and pull her up on her feet. If he put his arms around her warm body, he would not be able to leave.

It seemed to be in slow motion for Relena as Heero closed his eyes, forever sealing the deep midnight blue gems from her. Then his form turned completely away. With a swift movement, he pulled open the door. Relena was unaware of the chilly air that came in through the door. She was already having trouble breathing.

But she had to hear it! She needed to hear her name from his lips! Relena reached out her hand towards the figure.

"Goodbye… Relena."

Relena was unaware of anything else. He had said it, he had said her name. And with that, she gladly gave into the darkness.

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Soooo, what did ya think?! Let me know... I love reviews :D


	2. The Grace Period

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone! I hope you're all enjoying my fic! This chapter is full of Trowa and Relena, but don't stress Heero and Relena fans, there will be plenty of that to come as well! Make sure to review, I'll continue the story only if people are interested in it. Hope you enjoy! Just so you all know, Heero, Relena, and the gundam pilots were all 15 when they first met. During Endless Waltz, they were 16 years old. And in my fic, after 5 years they are 21 years old. Here ya go!

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**Chapter 2: The Grace Period**

It had been nearly 5 years since Heero had left Relena. Trowa had come that night, as Heero had promised Relena. He had unlocked her door to find her slumped over on the floor. After rushing to her side, he was relieved to see that she was still awake. Her eyes were swollen, tired from the tears that were evident on her face. Trowa clenched his teeth in fury. He had told Heero this was wrong. It would hurt her too much.

Pulling Relena into the cradle of his arms, he easily picked her up and carried her upstairs to her bed. Relena didn't seem to have noticed anything. Only once they were in her room and he had put on the light did she even notice that Trowa was there.

"Trowa. You're here." It wasn't a question and Trowa was surprised to hear Relena sound so sad about him being there.

His eyebrows furrowed in concealed pain. "Relena, do you want me to leave?" Trowa had always wanted Relena, he had always liked her. But as a friend to Heero and Relena both, he had kept his feelings hidden. It would have been wrong to complicate Relena's life further by making her pick between Heero or himself.

"No, Trowa. I only meant that… of course you would be here. _He _said you would be here. So everything else he said must be true also…" Her voice faded away. She mumbled the last part to herself as she felt a new string of sobs release from her body. _You will not see me again.'_

Trowa sat down on the bed next to her and pulled the girl into his arms. Relena automatically wrapped her arms around his strong shoulders and he pressed her small body closer to him. _This is too familiar. This is too familiar! This is like with him._

Trowa suddenly felt Relena's small hands on his chest and he was startled to see that Relena was pushing him away. Trowa immediately dropped his arms.

"This is like with him. This is like with _him_!" Relena's hysterical shriek made Trowa realize what she meant. Heero had hurt her far worse than he imagined.

Trowa grabbed the girl roughly and crushed her body to his. He would heal her. He would never leave her. Trowa vowed to protect her from anything and everything.

At first she tried to fight him off, her arms flailing around wildly. "Let me go! Get off of me!" Her voice was rough and raw but after a few moments of trying to fight him off, Relena suddenly gave into him. She threw her arms around his neck and began to sob uncontrollably.

"Shhh, Relena shhh. It's going to be okay. I'm here and you are safe with me." Trowa's gentle voice made Relena calm down enough to stop sobbing. She slowly tore her face away from his tear-soaked shirt to look up into his face.

To say that Trowa was beautiful would be an understatement. Relena was surprised she had never noticed the tall young man in that way before. She supposed it was because Heero was always around. Her eyes were only for Heero. But now that he was gone… what was she supposed to do?

One look into Trowa's emerald eyes vanished the sudden heartache that entered Relena's heart. Without thinking Relena moved her hand from Trowa's chest to lift his brown bangs away from his eyes.

Trowa stared at the small girl in his arms. Relena's honey blond hair clung to the tears on her face and her eyes were still watery as she gazed at him in awe. But to him, she was still beautiful.

"Relena," his voice was gentle, "You should rest. I will bring you some water so that you can sleep." He moved to get off the bed when suddenly Relena's small hand grabbed his rough one. Shocked, he turned around.

"Trowa. Please I'm sorry for being like this," she laughed without humor and motioned quickly to her face, "But I don't want you to go. Just stay here with me, if you don't mind." Her voice broke at the last part.

"Of course, Relena." Trowa pulled back the covers and gently put them on Relena. He turned to sit in the chair in the corner of the room but Relena grabbed his hand again and pulled him onto the bed. As she fell asleep, she kept one of Trowa's hands in hers.

That night, and for many more after that, Relena only had nightmares of Heero.

- - - - - -

It had taken a while for Relena to become herself again, but time seemed to heal her. Time and Trowa.

Being her new bodyguard, Trowa stayed with Relena from morning to night time. They had gotten to know each other more and more as the time went along. Trowa had saved Relena from the darkest part of her life and pulled her out of the depression that threatened to consume her.

In return, Trowa was finally able to get close to Relena. And everything he learned about her made him love her even more. Relena was a little taller than when he first met her when they were both just 15 years old. Her body had blossomed from a teenager to that of a young woman. She was still thin but her body had developed soft curves. Her honey blond hair was straight and came to the middle of her back. He loved the way she would laugh when he tried to make popcorn but would end up burning the entire bag. Or the way she would always cry when they watched a romantic movie. Or the way she looked at him when she thought he didn't notice.

The truth was, Relena was also falling for the tall young man. She had never noticed how penetrating his green eyes were. Or how he seemed to do everything with such elegance. Or how he had completely grown up, right before her eyes. The lanky 15 year old boy she had first met was now a strong and lean 21 year old young man. His hair still held the strange yet perfect shape with his light brown bangs covering half of his face.

It was about 2 years ago that they had gotten into a relationship with one another.

-Flashback-

The moonlight shined down on them as Trowa Barton walked Relena to her doorstep. His strong hand was gently placed on the small of her back as he guided her to the door. Once they reached her porch, Trowa took Relena's keys from her hands and unlocked her door. After walking her inside the foyer, he turned around to look at her.

"I will be right back, Relena. Let me just check the area," his voice was soft and gentle.

Relena nodded her head and smiled at the tall man in front of her. She watched him turn away from her and exit, closing the door quietly behind him.

Walking into the kitchen, Relena decided to make her favorite double chocolate cake. It had been another long day of work. She had been checking the clock in her office every 5 minutes it seemed until finally she heard a soft tap on the door and Trowa appeared. It was time to go home. She nearly threw herself at him from excitement. _Not that it would be a bad thing, _she thought. _What? Why am I thinking like this_? She blushed as she looked at Trowa who raised his eyebrow in a confused expression.

Relena began to take out all of the necessary ingredients and mix them together. She took a large bag of chocolate chips and began to melt them on top of the stove. When she realized the chocolate was starting to burn a little, Relena quickly looked around for the wooden spoon.

Suddenly the spoon appeared in front of her face, a hand holding it up for her. Startled, Relena jumped back, spilling some of the chocolate on the floor.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Trowa's voice came from behind her. Relena turned off the stove and put the chocolate in a bowl. On her tiptoes, she put the batter and the bowl on top of the refrigerator to let it cool.

"It's alright, Trowa. I should be used to this already." She turned around to face him, sighing deeply.

"Used to what?" He arched his eyebrow up.

"You know, all of you gundam pilots being so stealthy…creeping up on me." She muttered the last part to herself but Trowa had heard her. His lips twitched upwards. Relena was looking particularly beautiful to him right there, standing with her hair pulled up into a messy ponytail with jeans and a plain t-shirt on, an apron protecting her clothes. Without thinking he stepped forward, a gleam in his eyes.

Relena's eyes were wide and she stepped backwards, her back touching the refrigerator. Trowa put his hands on the fridge on either side of her face. He leaned forward until his face was a few inches from hers.

Relena's chest rose and fell erratically with the sudden proximity. She was losing herself in his emerald eyes that seemed to hold something else in them… passion?

"Now, now Relena. You don't really believe that I, what was the word you used? Ah, yes, I 'creep' you out?" His breathe was warm on her cheek and she shivered and closed her eyes. All she wanted to do now was wrap her arms around his broad shoulders and pull herself closer to his warm body.

"Umm… what?" She was losing focus, fast. Relena hit her head back into the fridge lightly, trying to bring back her control.

Suddenly there was a yelp and Relena felt cold again. She pulled open her eyes and saw Trowa standing a few feet away from her before she broke out in uncontrollable laughter.

Trowa was standing there, glaring angrily at Relena. He was covered in chocolate batter that dripped from his hair down to his body. The plastic blue bowl was still on top of his head. His dark green turtleneck sweater was smeared with the goop.

Relena had completely forgotten that she had placed the bowl of chocolate batter on top of the fridge. When she hit her head against the fridge, it must have knocked the bowl over onto Trowa.

"I'm… so … so … sorry… Trowa!" She gasped between her fits of laughter.

"Yeah, you sure look it!" He snapped back at her as he took the bowl off of his head and put it on the counter. He then crossed his arms across his chest. Suddenly he had an idea. With a wicked grin, he took some of the chocolate off of his head and threw it in Relena's direction.

Yep, that definitely worked.

Relena was no longer laughing. Instead she was glaring daggers at Trowa. Her face had chocolate across it and it dripped down her shoulders. Trowa took another handful of the gooey mess and tossed it at Relena. She shriek and jumped back.

Trowa doubled over and began to laugh.

"Trowa Barton! This is not funny!" She hissed at him, pulling at her chocolate filled hair.

Trowa suddenly lunged forward at Relena. She didn't even have a chance to scream as she found herself on her back on the floor. But Trowa's arms were around her, making sure to put her down gently on the ground before his arms shot out to hold himself up over her body.

"On the contrary, Relena," he spoke in a whisper, her name slowly leaving his mouth. "I happen to think this is _very_ funny." His face was close to hers again and his emerald green eyes stared into her cerulean ones.

She laughed nervously. Relena couldn't help but notice how enticing Trowa's lips were. _So perfect and they look so soft…I wonder…Wait, stop Relena! What is with you today?!_ Nothing was wrong with her. She just liked Trowa.

Relena gasped out loud from her realization. She liked Trowa. She didn't know why that surprised her so much. Probably because she was always so hopeless stuck on Heero. _But he was gone._ And Trowa was here for her when she needed someone the most. She could see herself with the tall quiet man. She nearly laughed from the epiphany._ She liked Trowa! _Any other girl in the world would. Physically, he was strong and beautiful. A heavenly creature. But there was so much more to him than just looks. He was sweet, gentle, and caring not to mention smart, polite, and… _extremely_ sexy. Especially covered in chocolate.

Relena unconsciously licked her lips.

Trowa caught this and was entranced. Relena's hair was spread around her head on the floor, her face flushed from Trowa putting her on the ground quickly. An inviting blush covered her cheeks. And her lips, her lips seemed to draw Trowa in closer. He shook his head slightly. He would not hurt her. He would not touch her until she wanted him to.

"You're covered in chocolate," Relena whispered softly. The statement was obvious and Trowa's eyes shot down to look at the pretty blond underneath him. What was she getting at?

"I believe that is _your_ fault, my dear." He whispered back. Relena inched her face closer to him, using her hands to push herself near him.

"It's alright. I'll just clean it up." Relena smiled seductively at Trowa and he froze. She moved closer to him. Slowly, Relena wound her arms around his neck, her fingers playing with the hair at his neck. Trowa was still leaning over Relena and since she put her arms around his neck, he was the only thing keeping them off the floor completely. The added weight didn't bother him in the least. Her sudden proximity, however, had him forgetting how to breath.

Relena inclined her head and kissed the chocolate from Trowa's jaw line away. He shivered from the softness of her lips. Relena smirked playfully and continued the trail up from his jaw line to his cheek and back down. She stopped for a moment to look at Trowa.

He seemed to be having trouble keeping his usual composure. Relena could see him struggling to keep his control and she looked up into his glorious eyes. They were darker than before, heavy with emotion.

Then she knew it was the right time. It seemed like a magnet was on her lips and another was on his, pulling her closer to him. The last couple of years flew in her mind as she thought of the happiness Trowa had brought to her life. She remembered laughing, smiling, crying, healing; all with this boy. She needed him.

Relena eyes were fixed on Trowa's lips as she pulled herself to him, pressing her lips softly against his.

Trowa eyes were wide as he felt the lightness of her lips on his. Slowly, he mirrored her action and closed his eyes. Since he was still leaning his weight on his palms, he gently pushed himself off of the floor and readjusted his legs, so that he fell back into a sitting position. Relena's arms were still attached around his neck and he wound his arms around her tiny waist, pulling her into his lap.

For once, Trowa couldn't think straight. It felt like there wasn't enough oxygen getting to his brain, yet the feeling was blissful. He wanted more of her. He crushed her body to his and his hand came up to angle Relena's face upwards so he could have better access to her lips.

Relena felt Trowa's warm hand gently under her jaw, moving her face up closer to his. Suddenly he began kissing her roughly, demandingly. Relena was surprised at this, but even more surprised that she didn't have any complaints. She pulled herself closer to him, if that was possible and her hands tangled themselves in his silky brown hair.

Ahh, but she did need to breath at some point.

Trowa noticed Relena had stopped responding to him and he vaguely felt her small hands pushing lightly against his chest. His lips released hers.

"Sorry." He was surprised that his breathing was ragged. His eyes burned into hers.

Relena was breathless as she spoke. "Why are you apologizing?"

Trowa's hand dropped from Relena's cheek and he began to pull himself away from her. Relena's fingers grabbed his hand and entwined their fingers together, preventing him from moving.

"Relena… I.. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let that get out of hand. I don't want to hurt you. That was wrong." His voice was quiet and void of emotion as he said this. It was as if he was delivering a line from a movie.

Relena was confused. "Umm, what? Trowa, you didn't hurt me. I mean I was running out of air and everything, but other than that I'm fine. I'm not made out of glass or anything!"

"No, you don't understand. I meant, I don't want to hurt you because I know it might be a little early still. You know, from the whole… Heero thing." He seemed reluctant and apologetic as he added the last part. He turned his face away from her.

Relena put her hand on Trowa's cheek and gently turned his face back to her. "Trowa, I _wanted_ to kiss you. I know that I must have had you worried after Heero left but I realized, I want you, Trowa. And 'it might be a little early?' Are you kidding me? Trowa you gave me more than enough time to mope! You gave me a long enough grace period." Relena laughed lightly at Trowa's expression. It changed from skepticism to excitement to confusion.

"Now I don't understand." His brows furrowed in an adorable expression.

"A grace period. It's like, well you gave me more than enough time to get everything out of my system. You have been the sweetest, most caring person to me throughout this whole thing. You have proven yourself as my friend. And now, I want to be _more_ than friend, Trowa. I need you. That is… if you'll have me of course." Relena grimaced at the last part. What if he didn't want her? She was already broken down from before. He deserved so much better than the second hand rags from someone else. He deserved the finest silk in the world.

Trowa cupped Relena's chin in his hand. "Relena, of course I want you! I have wanted you for a long time. Since back when we first met. But I did not want to hurt you or Heero, so I kept my feelings to myself. Well mostly to myself, you see Quatre and Catherine are quiet nosy when they want to be." He smiled at her as her eyes began to sparkle with delight.

Trowa pulled Relena back towards him and smirked at her evilly. "Now, missy. You are covered in chocolate as well. But don't worry. I'll take care of it." Trowa leaned down to Relena's neck and began to lick away the chocolate from her shoulders. Relena closed her eyes and gasped at the feeling of Trowa's warm tongue on her neck and shoulders.

She suddenly remembered something. Relena softly pushed Trowa's shoulders back until he faced her. With mock anger she crossed her arms across her chest. "So… you think kissing me is wrong?"

Trowa instantly remembered his ill choice of words. "Uhh no of course not! I only meant that it was wrong to … uh … force myself on you… or well you technically forced yourself on me but…-" He stammered through his explanation before Relena's finger quieted his lips.

"Trowa, I'm only joking!" She grinned at him and he smiled back. "Now, we really should clean this mess up… I call counters! You can mop."

Trowa looked at the kitchen. Most of the chocolate was on the floor. "Fine." He grumbled lightly, but wasn't mad. Not at all. Not after their evening.

"Trowa, look at this mess! It will take forever to clean up! And eww look at the floor. To think I was lying on it! Gross!" Relena continued to complain in her high pitched voice as she cleaned the counters but Trowa couldn't stop smiling at the pretty blond as he mopped the floor.

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Awww, I love it!! It's funny because I love Heero x Relena but writing about Trowa x Relena is also very natural. Well make sure to review and tell me what you think so far! Don't worry, Heero will be back soon :D


	3. The Initiated Kiss

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone! Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm really happy you like this fic so far! Okay that said, please please please review to let me know how you like this chapter and how the fic is progressing.

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**Chapter 3: The Initiated Kiss**

Trowa sat on the edge of Relena's bed looking bored as clothes continued to fly out of her closet. A pink frilly dress hit him in the face. His hand automatically lifted and pulled the material away from his head. He sighed deeply.

This scene had started about 2 hours ago when Trowa reminded Relena they needed to get ready for the banquet being held by her coworker, Demetri. Relena and Trowa had been rather preoccupied.

Trowa's lips twitched upward as he remembered the scene.

-Flashback-

Relena only had to stay at the office till 2 pm since it was a Friday. Fridays were Relena's favorite days because it meant she could get home early to enjoy some time for herself. She really did work too hard. Fridays were her haven. She would usually plan something for her and Trowa to do or someplace to go.

Today she had no plans. Trowa had knocked on her office's door and heard the quiet 'Come in.'

When he entered, he had found the pretty blond woman ready to leave. Her desk was already cleared, her computer shut down, and she had her coat on with her purse on her shoulder.

"Let's go!" She had nearly pushed Trowa out of the office as she closed the lights and put her arm through his.

The car ride had been short. Relena had told the Preventors that she preferred not to have a driver or a fancy limo. Instead she was fine with just having Trowa drive her home in a regular car. Relena tuned the radio to her favorite station and when she wasn't singing along with the songs, she told Trowa about her day and would ask him about his.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Trowa asked lightly, his voice gentle as he opened the front door of the Peacecraft mansion.

"Huh?…. Oh my gosh! I completely forgot to think of something to do today! This week has been so hectic… I'm really losing it." She groaned and hit her forehead with her palm.

"Come on, Relena. We'll think of something." Trowa grasped Relena's hand and pulled her into the house.

Relena threw her bag and her coat on the floor as she walked in. Trowa smiled and hung his coat up. He had once tried to pick up Relena's coat and hang it up also but Relena had gotten angry and told him that she could do it herself if she wanted to. She just liked to be a normal girl sometimes. Just be a little irresponsible. Plus, she would always get around to picking it up later. Trowa just wanted her to be happy.

"I'm so tired!" Relena sighed deeply and plopped herself on the couch in her t.v. room. The room was large and was truly a media viewing room with a huge wrap around couch that surrounded the maroon walls. A large entertainment center was placed on the north side of the wall with a plasma flat screen television set in the center of it. Relena had Duo and Trowa pick out the fancy electronics. She never knew much about that stuff anyway.

"Should I make you something to eat?" Trowa's voice came from the kitchen.

"No thanks! I'm not hungry, but go ahead and help yourself. You're probably hungry… again. You eat like an elephant." Relena snickered.

She was surprised at first when she saw how much the gundam pilots ate. She had thought that they were trained to endure only on the smallest amount of food possible. Trowa had later explained to her that while that was true, it was only done if there was no other options or if they were on a mission where they had to ration food carefully. Otherwise, as she saw for herself, they ate to their hearts' desire.

"Is that so?" Trowa walked soundlessly into the room and sat on the couch next to Relena, a plate in his hand.

"So, what are you eating?"

"Peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

"Can I have a bite?"

Trowa smiled. "I thought you weren't hungry."

"Well… it looks a lot better than the sandwiches I make," Relena added grudgingly.

"Let's hope it tastes better too." Trowa added playfully as Relena punched his arm. He turned to her and handed her half of the sandwich. During a phase where Relena wanted to learn how to cook, Trowa had been her guinea pig in testing her meals. They ranged from delicious to unidentifiable… and he had suffered through them.

Relena took a bite of the sandwich and frowned.

"What is it? It doesn't taste good?" Trowa looked at Relena with worry in his green eyes.

"No, it's not that. It's delicious, as usual. Everything _you_ make is delicious. It's so unfair! You're a gundam pilot, when did you learn to cook too?" Relena ended her little rant and looked up at Trowa's face, which was full of amusement.

"That's precisely why. We need to feed ourselves almost all of the time when we're on missions. We rarely work with partners or other people so we need to know how to cook. And it helps if you can cook well."

"Hmph."

They ate in silence. When they finished, Trowa went to rinse the plate while Relena turned to put in a movie. Some action adventure thriller with a tinge of romance in it. Something for everyone. Plus Trowa wasn't a chick flick kind of guy and ended up falling asleep during all of them anyway. Relena smiled. She always ended up kissing him awake.

Trowa returned from the kitchen and laid down on the wrap around couch, his body shifting so that he could see the television. Relena plopped herself on a cushion on the floor next to where Trowa's head lay.

The movie was boring. No plot really, bad acting, and annoyingly gushy romantic scenes. Trowa forced himself to stay awake but his eyes drooped down. Soon the ending credits appeared on the screen and Relena turned to look at him.

Her face softened into a smile. His chest rose and fell rhythmically with his breathing. Trowa's head was resting on the couch's armrest. _He looks so peaceful_. His light brown bangs covered his face and Relena leaned over him to move his hair back.

Her fingers gently pushed the soft hair back. Relena's eyes were fixated on his mouth. Trowa's lips parted slightly as he continued to breath. Leaning over him, Relena pressed her lips softly against his.

Trowa's eyes fluttered open. An angel's soft touch had woken him from his sleep. He had felt a pressure built in his chest when air was not easily accessible and he was pulled from his subconscious only to feel Relena's lips over his. Relena was still on the floor, leaning over his face as she continued to kiss him. _The movie must have ended_, he thought with a wry smile.

So he didn't make it though this one either. It seemed like the romantic movies they watched these days became increasing dull and he really couldn't help falling asleep in the middle of them.

He closed his eyes and pressed his mouth firmly against Relena's. Trowa could feel her smile beneath his lips. Pushing himself up from the couch, he turned to where Relena sat on the floor and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her up on top of him. Relena's hands rested gently on Trowa's chest.

Suddenly, an wicked idea entered Trowa's head and he flipped quickly until Relena's body was under his with him on top of her.

Relena gasped. Trowa's hair tickled her neck as his lips trailed her shoulders.

"Please… don't… tell… me… I… fell… asleep… again?" His warm breath sent shivers down her spine as he whispered in between kisses.

"Mmm… somehow I don't really mind anymore." Relena's voice choked out the response as she let out a gasp when Trowa's tongue flicked a particularly ticklish spot on her collarbone.

He chuckled lightly. "Is that right? But on a more serious note… are you all ready for tonight?"

_Ready for tonight?_ "Huh? What's tonight?" Relena tangled her fingers in his soft hair and moved her arms to rest on Trowa's broad shoulders.

"Did you forget? Tonight is another one of Demetri's banquets."

The words processed in her mind slowly. Probably because her mind was too preoccupied with the soft pressure of Trowa's lips that had returned to her own. She kissed him back enthusiastically until…

_Tonight. Tonight is another one of Demetri's banquets._ It clicked in her head suddenly. Relena's eyes snapped open and her hands broke away from around Trowa's neck and went straight to his chest. With all the strength she had in her, she pushed against his muscular chest.

There was a yelp of surprise from Trowa as he landed on the floor with a loud thump. Relena sat up from the couch quickly, her cerulean eyes wide. "Oh my goodness! The banquet! I did forget… oh no! What am I going to wear? I have to get ready! There's no time!" Relena's shrill voice blocked out Trowa's groan from the floor.

Sitting up gingerly, he rubbed his head. "Argh. Relena, I wish I didn't remind you. I was enjoying myself, you know. Man, I should learn how to keep my mouth shut." Trowa muttered the last part to himself.

Relena looked over the edge of the couch at Trowa. He was still lying on the floor, winching slightly. "I'm sorry Trowa! But I have to get ready. Thanks for reminding me… listen don't worry about this, I'll pay you back some how!" She winked at him and laughed as she hopped off of the couch.

"Yeah… sure." He sighed and pushed himself off of the ground.

-End Flashback-

A pair of pants hit Trowa in the chest. He sighed deeply. Right not he wanted to kill Demetri. Not only had getting ready for his little banquet ruin the moment Trowa and Relena were having but now, his beautiful princess had shut herself up in her closet for the entire afternoon as she panicked while looking for something to wear for the occasion.

"Relena… isn't this overdoing it, just a little bit?" He looked around the room. That was clearly an understatement.

Relena's otherwise clean and neat bedroom was now full of clothes, purses, and shoes. Shirts and pants were strewn all over the floor. There was a dress hanging off the side of the closet door. Bags were thrown across the desk. And tons…and he meant _tons_ of shoes scattered the carpet.

A white sneaker flew out of the open closet and hit Trowa in the nose. That was the last straw.

"Relena! This is completely insane! Come out of there, now! You have more than enough dresses to wear to this banquet. I don't see why you can't wear that red dress from the last charity dinner. Really, I don't understand the whole 'you can't wear it twice' rule, which is completely absurd… what's the use of a charity dinner if you know everyone already blew their money on getting new outfits?!" Trowa had marched himself into Relena's closet. It was more of a room than a closet anyway.

Relena was on her knees searching on the floor for a lost high heel when she had heard Trowa's presence behind her. And he was angry. She smiled lightly. Trowa's voice was still soft but filled with annoyance as he continued to rant.

Brushing imaginary dirt off of her knees, Relena straightened up and walked over to the tall, brooding gundam pilot, who stood in the corner of her room, his arms across his chest as he leaned against the wall. He was looking out of her window with a bored expression on his face. Relena suppressed a giggle. Only she could see the scowl in his expression because she knew him so well.

"Oh, Trowa. I'm sorry! I didn't know picking out an outfit irritated you so much."

Yep, she was definitely teasing him. He turned his face farther to the side. It didn't really matter that he was acting childish. He was allowed to act like this after the nightmarish afternoon he spent.

Relena wound her arms around Trowa's neck and pulled herself close to him. "Come on, it can't have been _so_ bad."

Trowa's face turned towards the pretty girl in front of him. He glared down at her and pointed to his nose, which was slightly pink from where the sneaker had hit.

Stretching on her toes, Relena leaned towards Trowa and kissed his nose. "There, better?"

Trowa grunted lightly.

Relena sighed. _Still not forgiven._ Moving her face towards his again, Relena lightly pressed her lips to his. She could never get tired of kissing Trowa. The taste of his mouth was unbelievable and his lips, soft yet firm, were completely perfect. Yeah. She would never get over it.

When Trowa wrapped his arms around her body and pulled towards him in an iron grip, Relena smiled against his lips. He obviously didn't want to end the kiss and well, she wasn't about to anger him again after he was already frustrated from the uneventful afternoon in her room.

Finally Trowa released Relena. Maybe they didn't _want_ to stop the kiss but they certainly _needed_ to breath.

"Forgiven?" Relena tried to sound seductive but her voice came out breathless instead. She mentally cursed herself.

Trowa grinned at her and then pretended to be hesitating. "Well… I _guess_ so. Although I am really curious if I didn't forgive you, what would you have done next?" There was a dark glint in his eyes as he looked at her and Relena shivered lightly.

The look in his eyes made her want to crash her lips into his again. But they couldn't afford to lose any more time and heaven knew if she initiated a kiss with Trowa again, he would not let her go as easily as before.

"Unless you want to miss the banquet completely, I'll have to tell you some other time. Or _show_ you if you prefer." Her innocent smile made Trowa groan loudly and he slapped his hand across his forehead.

"I don't really care about the banquet, but I know that you must make an appearance. Relena, it's not fair to tempt me like this. Even gundam pilots have a limit to the control they can exercise. And right now, you are dancing on a _very_ fine line."

Stifling a giggle, Relena turned towards the ruined room. "I think I'll wear my blue dress again." There was really no point in her telling him which blue dress, what the cut was like, what kind of straps it had, what the exact shade was, or any other details that only girls could understand. She didn't bother telling him about what shoes she would wear or the jewelry. Again, minor details to a guy.

"Great. That sounds perfect." His response was automatic. He was just happy that she had finally settled on a dress. He turned to where she gestured the blue dress supposedly lay on the floor.

Relena couldn't hold her laughter in anymore when she saw Trowa turn his face. A little white sock rested on top of his head.

"What is so funny?" His eyes were wide as he looked over her tiny frame shaking with laughter.

On her tiptoes, Relena pulled the sock off of his head. "Hmm, interesting look Trowa but I don't really think it belongs there."

He scowled lightly as she shoved him out of her room to get ready, still giggling lightly.

* * *

Well... How was it?! Didya like? Let me know... review! Oh and now I'm completely conflicted between Heero and Trowa and who should be with Relena. :(


	4. The Memories

**Author's Note**: Hellooo everyone! Thanks for all of the reviews and support for this fic! I'm extremely happy with the way it's going right now and love that you all like it so much! I have a couple of other projects in the works right now so I'll say this, I will only continue this fic if people are interested in it. So if you read it, make sure to review. It helps me as a writer and also gives me a reason to continue.

Haha, I love how everyone is siding with either Trowa or Heero for Relena. I had a direction of who Relena was going to be with when I started this fic but after these past few chapters and the ideas I have in my head for the next few, not to mention the various reviews rooting for Heero or Trowa, I am seriously conflicted! It's awesome that you guys are so into it! :D

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**Chapter 4: The Memories**

Relena emerged from her bathroom after about an hour. Trowa has long since given up trying to understand why it took women so long to get ready. His assumed sister, Catherine, did the same thing before everyone of their circus shows. He had no idea what could possibly be taking her long and once when he asked she had snapped at him and told him it was beyond him as a male to understand. He didn't push the subject farther and had simply gestured through the open circus. Afterall, it wasn't a good idea to irritate someone who was going to be throwing knives at you in a few short moments.

After Relena had kicked him out of her room to it clean up a little, he had gone to the Preventor's Headquarters to pick up his tuxedo. They provided the dress tuxes for all of the bodyguards. All of the suits had built in earpieces for phones and walkie-talkies as well as numerous hidden pockets to put guns and weapons. A precaution, of course.

When he had returned to the Peacecraft Mansion, he had found that Relena's room no longer looked like a tornado. He had to give it to her, she was remarkably efficient when she wanted to be.

She called from the bathroom. "Trowa? Is that you?"

He sighed deeply. "Relena, remember when I told you about how crucial stealth is? If it wasn't me out here, whoever was here would know where you were and that you were alone."

Relena rolled her eyes from inside of the bathroom. "Yeah, sure… paranoid," she muttered under her breath.

She shivered lightly. For a second his response made her remember _him_. The him being Heero Yuy. For some reason these days, she thought about him a lot more. Of course she _always_ remembered him, but recently he began to flood her thoughts more and more.

A numb feeling was creeping up on her and she quickly pushed the thoughts out of her head. "So where did you go?" Relena called from inside of the bathroom.

"To pick up my suit. I'll change here, if you don't mind."

"No, of course not… not if you don't mind that I might 'accidentally' come out and peek."

Trowa could hear the smile in her voice. He changed quickly and sat on her bed to wait for her to emerge from the bathroom. 10 minutes passed. 15. A half hour. 40 minutes. _What was taking so long?!_

Finally Relena came out of the bathroom to find Trowa on her bed. His feet dangled off of the end of the bed and he was lying on his back. She cleared her throat and he straightened up immediately to look at her.

Trowa drew in a shaky breath. Relena stood before, looking more breathtaking than he had ever seen her look before. She wore a long midnight blue dress that went to the floor over her high heels. The blue material looked strapless while her neck and arms sparkled but on closer examination the blue material that started around her chest was connected to a see-through sparkly netlike material that went from her neck to her arms. She wore her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her hair was wavy and light wisps of hair escaped the pony tail to frame her face. Relena's makeup was light, she had applied a little bit of eyeliner and mascara.

Breathtaking. Truly breathtaking. Which was probably why Trowa needed to gasp for air. The beautiful creature in front of him seemed to be stealing his breath.

Relena twirled lightly in front of Trowa to give him the entire picture. She then allowed herself to look at him. She nearly fainted.

Trowa was wearing all black. His tux fit him perfectly. Underneath the tux, he wore a black dress shirt, its top few buttons undone, allowing Relena to peek at his muscular chest. Her eyes traveled slowly back to his face where his piercing emerald eyes gazed at her. She swallowed hard. Right now all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around his broad shoulders and find out what was under that dress shirt. _Argh! Demetri's banquet awaits. _

His tie was thrown carelessly over his shoulder and he reached up to put it on. Relena's fingers beat him to it.

He stared at the blond woman in front of him. Even with her high heels on, her head only came to his chin. Her lithe fingers began to button his buttons. With the lightest feathery touch, her fingers traced up his exposed chest to his collarbone. Trowa felt a burning desire to crush her body against his. His jaw clenched as he tried to restrain himself.

Relena had caved in to her overwhelming urge to touch Trowa's chest as she buttoned his buttons. The skin was warm, smooth, and firm. She shivered lightly when her eyes met his. It was times like these when she wished there wasn't a world outside of her bedroom. No obligations, no appearances, no pretenses. Just her and Trowa. Together.

Cerulean blue eyes met emerald green ones. Something flashed in her mind but it was gone faster than she could register what it was. She thought for a second she saw Prussian blue eyes but when she blinked back, all she saw were Trowa's.

Quickly, Relena finished the buttons and grasped the tie from Trowa's hand. He bent slightly to allow her to put the tie over his neck. She tried to concentrate on making the knot instead of on Trowa's warm breath that fanned her cheek.

Satisfied with the neat knot, she smiled and let her hands drop to his chest. Trowa's arms automatically wound themselves around her waist and pulled her to his body. His head dropped to her ear.

"Relena-" the sound came out ragged, "you are beautiful. I can't even say you look beautiful right now because truthfully, you _are _beautiful… always." His hands tightened around her and she could feel his lips on her ear.

She groaned lightly. "Trowa, you're making this incredibly hard. You know I don't want to go either, but we must. It's hard enough standing here, with you looking…" she trailed off and began to kiss his jaw line. "Dashing," she muttered. "But now you're even _talking _like that?"

"Talking like what?"

"Oh, don't play innocent Trowa. You must know when you whisper like that in my ear… and the things you say…you know how much I want to just forget going to the banquet and stay with you here in my room… but we have to go." Her breathing was going out of control now. Trowa's mouth was still at her ear, kissing down her jaw and then up to her mouth. He didn't kiss her immediately there.

Trowa smirked at her. "I didn't know I affected you so much. I simply thought it was _you_ driving me crazy."

She scowled at his expression. "Don't let it go to your head."

"I'm just happy it's a mutual feeling." With that, Trowa leaned down and kissed Relena lightly on the cheek.

Something burst through Relena's head in that instant. One moment she was talking with Trowa and he had leaned in to kiss her and the next it was Heero in front of her eyes, his eyes piercing as he kissed her.

She gasped and pulled her head back but Trowa held her body firmly in place. "What is it Relena? What's wrong?" His voice was anxious.

The memory disappeared back into the dark corner of her mind. She blinked and there Trowa was again, his emerald eyes gazing at her nervously. "Sorry, just got a look at the time. We should leave or we'll be late." She tore her eyes away from his as she searched for her purse and coat.

Trowa's arms dropped back to his side. His brows were still furrowed in confusion as he helped her into her coat. But she seemed to be acting normal as she stood on her tiptoes to give him a peck on the lips.

Relena couldn't understand why the memory had come back to her just now. There wasn't anything really similar about the experiences besides the kiss being on the cheek but Trowa had kissed her numerous times before on her cheek. _Why were these memories resurfacing now? What did it mean?_

* * *

Oh my goodness! Poor Relena, it has got to be tough when you have two incredibly handsome, gorgeous guys in your life. Uhh, yeah right! So review!! Tell me what you think about the chapter, your fav quotes, reasons why Relena should be with Heero or Trowa... gotta let me know!! :D


	5. The Party Scene

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all the reviews everyone! I'm really enjoying writing this fic so I hope you enjoy reading it. Right now it's hard to tell if team-Trowa or team-Heero has more fans. :D As always, I have a couple of other projects I'm working on right now so if you want me to continue this fic, review and let me know! Let me know your fav parts or your fav quotes!

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Party Scene**

They arrived at the large hotel about 20 minutes later. Trowa got out of the car and walked around to open Relena's door. He handed the keys over to the valet. Relena looked annoyed.

Trowa smiled at her and offered his arm to her. "Relena, you know you have to be here."

"Yes, I know. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. Plus you're not thrilled to be here either," she accused him lightly.

"True. But I promise to have a good time if you do also."

"Fine. I'll try"

"There you go, that's the optimistic Relena I know."

She grinned at his sarcasm.

The entire hotel was owned by Demetri's family. It was a huge place, with ornate decorations and fancy chandeliers. It was very showy but completely beautiful. She walked forward on Trowa's arm, stopping to admire the building. The party would be on the second floor. Above the first and second floors was the actual hotel part of the building. Because they were guests here and the party was supposed to be until very late, Demetri had given them all hotel rooms to stay the night in.

They walked up the large set of stairs that lead to the hotel and Relena's breath caught in her throat as she saw the entrance. The entrance was lit with small white lights that added a firefly affect. The inside was even more magnificent. As Trowa lead her up another set of stairs to the main ballroom on the second floor, Relena glanced around and caught the eyes of the other Preventors on duty on the first floor. She smiled and waved to the four men. They were all ex-gundam pilots.

She caught the tallest man's eye first and grinned. Her brother, Milliardo, was standing next to his wife, Noin, his hand in hers. Milliardo had long, straight blond hair, that was a shade lighter than Relena's. Noin was a tall, slim woman with short cropped black hair. Both had met a long time ago as part of the military.

Next to the couple was a man with long brown hair, twisted into a braid. Out of all of the pilots, Duo was known to get in the most trouble. He winked at Relena as his arm wound around a petite girl's waist. The girl with the short dark hair slapped his arm lightly at his action. She was Relena's best friend, Hilde.

Next to Duo and Hilde stood Quatre and Dorothy. Quatre had a boyish face with beautiful blond hair. He was so kind and gentle. The woman who stood next to him had long blond hair and was wearing a look that resembled a scowl. _I guess opposites really do attract_, Relena thought vaguely. It wasn't that Dorothy was a bad person, she was just so… cut-throat about everything. She was tough.

A Chinese man stood next to them. A woman with her hair pulled back into two ponytails whispered in his ear. He nodded and walked the other way. The man was Wufei and the woman was Sally Po. Relena wondered when the two would finally get together. It was obvious that they liked each other but Wufei was too thick headed to do anything about it.

She stopped for a moment on the stairs. Her friends. She had missed them so much. "Trowa, can't we just stay down here for a while?" Relena's voice was close to a beg.

Trowa sighed. He wasn't looking forward to this banquet either. All these banquets were the same. A bunch of rich politicians and celebrities coming together to mingle with each other about nothing in particular. He was always _so_ bored at these sort of things. Nothing to do but talk to strangers. He shuddered, it was his worst nightmare.

He was slightly pleased to learn that Relena hated these things too. She had told him during the last one they were forced to go to. As Vice Foreign Minister, she was expected to make appearances at the events. Trowa had been leaning against a wall, completely consumed with boredom when Relena caught his eye across the room.

One of her sleazy co-workers, a man named Jonathon, was talking to her as she nodded her head, bored. When he turned his head, Relena took the opportunity to stick her tongue out at him and make a face. Trowa laughed at this. Later that evening, as he told her about how bored he was, she reminded him that at least he didn't have to talk to them. He was thankful for that.

Trowa looked at the pretty blond, her eyes pleading and sighed again. "Relena, you know I can't say no to you. But they should be coming upstairs shortly anyway."

"Okay. You're right. There's no use prolonging this anyhow. It's going to be torture either way you look at it."

Trowa grinned. "That's the spirit."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, shut up."

* * *

Relena looked at the large gold grandfather clock. It had only been an hour since they arrived and she was ready to call it a night. She had been mingling endlessly since they had arrived in the large dance hall. Trowa had vanished into the shadows, as he always did, to watch her from a distance.

She felt someone's hand on the small of her back and immediately gasped.

"Hello, Relena." A silky voice whispered in her ear. Demetri gently turned Relena around to face him, his hand still on her back. It was warm yet Relena still shivered.

Demetri was also 21 years old, the same age as Relena and the gundam pilots. He was extremely handsome with messy dirty blond hair, tan skin, and blue-gray eyes. Demetri was tall and had a great body. With a statuesque body, perfectly sculpted chest and muscles he was breathtakingly striking.

But still, Relena was not attracted to him. He had tried to get her attention for years now, it was a bit annoying since he already knew she was in a relationship with Trowa. Girls were constantly throwing themselves at him. He didn't mind in the least bit. Demetri was one of those guys you meet who know they are good-looking and throw it in your face every second they get. For this reason, and because he was a first-class smooth talker, he had been with practically every young woman in the office building Relena and he worked at.

The more Relena turned him down, the more persistent the man seemed to become!

His eyes raked over her dress and slowly came back up to his face where he smirked. "Relena, I don't even think there's a word to describe how you look right now."

Yep, definitely a charmer.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Demetri." Her tone was light and joking as she tried to ease the heavy tension he was creating.

He chuckled lightly and the hand on Relena's back held on a little more firmly. "Would you do me the honor of a dance? You always let me down at the other events with the excuse that you are making the rounds but it seems like I caught you on downtime finally."

Relena blushed. _So maybe she was avoiding him just a little bit_. "Uhh…" She faltered slightly as she looked around the room for Trowa. _Oh come on! I'm in danger now, save me! Sure… he was constantly asking her if she was alright when she was getting ready in the bathroom but now he's incognito. Wonderful. _

Demetri grinned at her and began to lead her onto the dance floor. "Come on, I promise I won't bite… much." His eyes skimmed over her body again and locked on her lips.

Relena didn't have a response to that. She clenched her teeth in anger. Once on the dance floor, one of his arms wound tightly around her waist while the other grasped her hand. The band was playing a slow waltz and they gracefully fell into step with the other dancers. Relena looked past Demetri's shoulder as they danced. She could feel his eyes on her and it made her feel uncomfortable.

"Relena-" his voice was soft and husky. Her eyes snapped to his face. "Why are you so stiff? You know I won't hurt you, right?" He looked at her so seriously. Relena could only gape at him before remembering her manners.

"I'm sorry, Demetri. I have been under a lot of stress lately, from work." _And from you_, she added in her head. Her response was perfectly diplomatic.

He smiled a dangerous smile and his eyes tightened, as did his grip on Relena's waist. "Now, now Relena. There's no reason to be so formal, we have been coworkers for quite some time now, I would like it if we became more personal. How about we meet for dinner this week?"

_Be polite, be polite, be polite_, the rational part of her brain begged her. The other part of Relena wanted to rip her hand out of his slimy grip. "I'm sorry, Demetri but my schedule is completely full for a while."

The playful smile on his face disappeared and he leaned closer to her face. They were inches apart now. "Relena if you won't have dinner with me, how will we ever get to know each other better? What with you constantly making excuses to stay away from me and refusing all of my invitations for a date, not to mention you are always with that gundam pilot bodyguard boyfriend of yours. I can give you whatever you want, and then some. Why don't you come to my hotel room later and I can show you what I mean?"

Relena's eyes widened. The creep! She was used comments like these from him and they grossed her out. She tried to wrench her hand from his but he held it firmly. She didn't want to make a scene with all of these people around.

The dance ended but Demetri didn't drop his arm from around Relena.

Suddenly a soft, dangerous voice interrupted them. Relena sighed in relief.

"I think I'll take it from here, Demetri." Trowa stood next to Demetri, his hand on the man's shoulder in a firm grip. There was a fire in his eyes as his voice snapped, polite but filled with suppressed rage. Demetri forced a smile and dropped the arm around Relena's waist but held on to her hand.

"Of course, there you are, Trowa. I hope you two enjoy the evening. Relena, hopefully I'll see you later." There was no mistake of the intention of those words and he leaned over her hand and brushed his lips against her skin. She shivered and tried not to be too obvious as she pulled her hand away from him.

Trowa looked murderous as he watched the young man walk away into the crowd. Relena tugged on his arm and pulled him to her. He immediately wrapped his arms around Relena and she lay her head on his chest as they began to sway to the slow dance.

"Are you alright? I could go after him…"

"No, no. It's fine, Trowa. I'm okay now. Where were you though, I was nervous you wouldn't come to my rescue." She closed her eyes and inhaled his masculine scent.

She felt fingers under her chin as Trowa gently lifted her face to look into her eyes. "Relena, I will always come to your rescue." He looked at her seriously.

Relena smiled and wound her arms tighter around his neck. "I know. I was kidding." She rested her head on his chest again as they continued the dance. His arms supported her and she felt so safe in his arms.

"I was talking with Duo and Hilde. They've invited us to a party they're throwing. A little get-together for us gundam pilots and friends."

"Mmm. Sounds like fun."

"Yes. Now, what was Demetri saying to you. You looked frightened before I got to you."

_Crap, he's not going to be distracted!_ "Oh, nothing really. You know Demetri. He's a sleaze. He did hurt my hand though, his grip was painful!" She knew if she told Trowa about Demetri's comment to join him in his hotel room later, Trowa would go ballistic and beat Demetri. Not that it would be a bad idea.

Trowa dropped one of his arms from Relena's waist. She looked up at him, confused as he grasped her hand gently from around his neck and pulled it to his face. That's when she noticed his expression.

Trowa's eyes were narrowed, his brilliant green eyes blazed. His mouth was set in a tight straight line as if he was trying to prevent something himself from talking, or breathing from the looks of it.

He held her hand gently and turned it over. Relena noticed the bluish bruise that had formed when Demetri had held her hand. She winced slightly as Trowa touched the bruise.

Trowa's eyes snapped to her face. "Relena, he hurt you… I'm going to talk to him now, put some sense in his little head."

Relena gasped and threw her arms around Trowa's neck tightly. "No! Trowa, you can't! It really doesn't hurt that much. I don't think he did it on purpose, and you know how easily I bruise." He didn't look convinced. Her voice became soft and her eyes softened as she played with the hair on the back of his neck. "Please, Trowa. Just stay here with me."

Trowa dropped his head and leaned forward to kiss Relena's forehead. His bangs covered his eyes. "Only because you know I can't say no to you. Otherwise I would beat his face in so that he could never say those things to you again, whatever he said to upset you."

Relena laughed nervously but Trowa looked serious.

* * *

Well well well, we have a creeper: Demetri. :( At least Trowa's there to protect Relena! Yay Trowa!

Review and let me know about your fav quotes or parts :D


	6. The NeverEnding Dance

**Author's Note**: Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay! Anyways, I'm currently busy doing my other stories and projects so if you want this story to continue, I need you to review! I really appreciate all the reviews I've gotten so far, and even the short ones help continue the story. If you read it, take a sec and let me know how you liked it! Thanks again, I love you all! :D

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**Chapter 6: The Never-Ending Dance**

"And so I told them, you'll love this part, Relena! I told them… I said… haha… you'll love this… I was like…"

"Spit it out, Mr. McAlistar!" Relena laughed heartily with her elder coworker. Mr. Andrew McAlistar had stole her away from Duo to dance with her. He was nice enough, but he had been laughing and stuttering for the last ten minutes, promising Relena she was going to laugh at whatever story he was trying to tell.

Mr. McAlistar had taken Relena under his wing when she first became Vice Foreign Minister. He taught her how to handle certain situations, what to say during presentations, and the most important, how to use the coffee machine in the lounge. He was a father-figure to Relena.

Yep, this party was definitely going to be the same as all of the others. After her and Trowa had barely gotten through one dance, her brother, Milliardo, had asked, more like demanded, to dance with her.

-Flashback-

When Relena had glared at his "subtle" approach to getting rid of Trowa, Milliardo had simply shrugged and began to ask questions about their relationship. Again.

"Barton takes up enough of your time as it is."

"That's because he's my boyfriend!"

"Yes, well, I'm your brother. Besides you two have been dancing all night anyway."

Relena frowned at her brother. "Since when does one dance count as an entire night?"

He looked at her sheepishly. "Sorry, I suppose I am a little overprotective."

"A little?" Relena's head cocked to one side and her eyebrows rose delicately.

"Oh, all right! But it's because I only want what's best for you."

Relena smiled at her brother and hugged him tightly. "I know you do. And you don't have to worry, Trowa is what's best for me. He's kind and gentle, sweet and caring, and I…I really care for him. Trowa has to be what's best for me." Her cheeks burned with the blush. It was weird for her to talk about her feeling for Trowa with Milliardo.

Milliardo let his chin rest on top of Relena's head. He closed his eyes and hugged her tighter to him. Once upon a time ago, Relena didn't know of his existence and they had been on opposing sides during the Eve Wars. Thank goodness the world had righted itself.

"Who ever is best for you, will be with you when the moment presents itself."

After a long moment, and a slight clearing of a woman's throat, Relena and Milliardo slowly pulled apart. Noin stood smiling with Quatre. "Relena, do you mind if I steal your brother for a dance. I may never get another chance to get him to dance!"

Relena felt Milliardo stiffen besides her. He hated dancing. Relena giggled and pushed her brother forward towards Noin's waiting figure. "No, of course not! Someone has to teach him to dance!"

"Well seeing as you are without a partner, Miss Relena, perhaps I might be able to aid you?" A soft, gentle voice spoke from behind her. Relena whirled around and threw her arms around the boy. Quatre hugged her tightly back. They both released each other and stepped back to get a better look.

He had boyishly good looks. Dimpled cheeks with a beautiful smile and light blond hair with baby blue eyes. Not to mention that he was a gentleman in every aspect.

"Oh Quatre! Save me from the boredom of having no one to dance with! My knight in shining armor." Relena put the back of her hand up to forehead and pretended to swoon.

Quatre's strong arms were around her in an instant, making sure that she didn't fall backwards. His smile was wide and sincere. "I'm happy to be of service! I wasn't under the impression that you needed help finding a partner, there seems to be a line," his smile was wicked.

Relena grimaced as he straightened them both and expertly entered into a waltz. "Oh, you mean the fact that I have been dancing with people for about 2 hours straight?"

Quatre twirled Relena around with the changing dance and ignored her comment. "You look lovely," he stated simply.

"Thank you."

They danced with each other in comfortable silence. It had been too long since they had enjoyed time together.

The dance ended and they began another. Suddenly Quatre stopped moving.

"Uhh…You'll have to excuse me, Relena. Dorothy is waiting for me." Quatre's smile was apologetic and she followed his glance to where Dorothy stood at the edge of the dance floor, frowning and tapping her foot. Relena sighed deeply and dropped her hands from his strong shoulders.

"Oh course Quatre. Please tell Dorothy I say hello. We'll all need to get together at Duo and Hilde's party."

She watched as he walked quickly to Dorothy's side. The look in his eyes was so full of love, Relena couldn't help but wonder how someone like Dorothy had captured Quatre's eye. The answer was very apparent though.

As Quatre approached Dorothy, Dorothy had grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him on the lips. As she broke away, Relena saw the same love Quatre's eyes had mirrored in Dorothy's. She loved him, just as much. Relena sighed and immediately wanted to find Trowa.

Her eyes looked frantically around the large hall and then she saw him by the bar with Wufei. By the look on Wufei's face, it looked like they were arguing about something. Trowa seemed to be enjoying himself as she saw him laugh slightly and down a glass of wine.

_Maybe they weren't arguing,_ Relena thought. Wufei's face was a scowl all the time. She could very well be getting his angry face confused with his happy face. There wasn't much difference.

Relena's eyes shifted once more back to Trowa's figure. He was sitting at the bar, his body facing the dance floor with his back leaning back on the counter. His elbows rested on the counter as well. Light brown bangs covered one side of his face and his devilish good looks were only heightened by the relaxed posture. Relena saw a couple of young women staring wistfully at him from a corner. He raised a slender finger and twirled it slightly, motioning to the bartender, who set a small glass by him.

Suddenly his eyes flashed to hers. Her breath caught in her throat. Trowa's eyes were a piercing emerald, almost predatory. His smirk made her stomach flip. He looked dangerous… and she found she liked it. He reached back without looking away from Relena and grabbed the small glass. Slowly Trowa raised the glass in Relena's direction and then swiftly brought it to his lips, pounding it down.

Relena shivered slightly. A dancing couple suddenly broke their little staring contest as they blocked Relena's view of Trowa. When they had past, Trowa was turned towards Wufei and Sally Po, who had just come to join the two. As he talked with them, Relena could see a light in his eyes and his lips curved upward slightly. He did not turn to look at her again.

The clock read 8 pm. There was still many hours of dancing and chit-chatting left. A server walked past Relena holding a large tray of specialty wines. Relena grasped the handle of one of the glasses and quickly took a couple of sips. She wasn't one to drink but after that moment with Trowa and the fact that she still had to get through the rest of the party before she was able to wrap her arms around him and hug his body close to her, she figured she might need a little help.

"Hiya Princess. How about you and I burn up the dance floor with some moves?" Duo's laugh filled Relena's head and she smiled at the man with the long perfect braid.

"Duo, where'd you come from? I didn't see you!"

"Maybe that's because you were too busy staring at Mr. High Alcohol Tolerance over there." He gestured with his thumb towards the bar. Relena blushed.

"Oh… you saw that."

"Well, the electricity between you two is hard to ignore. What with you two constantly looking at each other like that; I'm surprised Trowa hasn't taken you right here on the dance floor." He grinned suggestively.

Relena blushed and hit his arm. "Duo!"

His laugh was light and loud and Relena found herself laughing along with him. It was contagious. Duo took Relena's now empty wine glass and handed her another glass. "Here ya go, Princess. You might need it with the night you're having today. I was worried you wouldn't have an opening in your busy schedule to say 'hello' to me!" He pouted and Relena grinned at him.

"So you also noticed Trowa downing glass after glass of wine. Is that really a good idea as a Preventor?"

Duo shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hand from Relena's waist to wave dismissively. "Lady Une gave Trowa the night off today. So technically, he's off duty. She thought he deserved it tonight; plus it's his turn. We each get a one of these party things off. And I wouldn't be worried about his tolerance level. He could chug those things for the rest of the night and only get a little buzz at most." He winked at Relena and twirled her around as he picked up the pace of the dance. Relena held the wine glass carefully in her hands as she laughed with Duo.

-End Flashback-

So here she was now. Mr. McAlistar had turned to excuse himself. Relena sighed deeply and nearly ran to sit at an empty table. Her feet killed! She hadn't gotten a chance to sit all night.

Once at the table, Relena put her elbows up and rested her head in her hands. Her thoughts were occupied by Trowa. She had been watching him carefully all night long and wanted nothing more than to be able to be close to him now. She glanced around the room, trying to find him.

Finally her eyes stopped at a tall figure on the edge of the dance floor. Relena's eyes widened. She was surprised to see a young woman pulling on Trowa's arm. And she was slightly jealous.

The woman was tall and statuesque. She had bleach blond hair that was pulled up into an elegant bun at the top of her head. A long red dress clung to her figure with an open back and a plunging neckline. She was beautiful.

Relena groaned inwardly. She recognized the woman. It was Sylvia Noventa, her other coworker. It was a well known fact in the office that Sylvia was a huge flirt and a tramp. Sylvia was the she-version of Demetri. It was also a well known fact that she had her eyes set on Trowa for quite some time. That part annoyed Relena.

Trowa and Relena had been dating for quite some time now, when was the girl going to get it through her thick skull? Trowa was always by Relena's side and they weren't exactly hiding they relationship. Everyone saw them kissing in between meetings or at gatherings like these. Of course they weren't making out all over the place, they needed to keep it professional still. But come on! What was with people like Demetri and Sylvia anyway?

Relena smirked slightly as she saw Trowa's expression. It was obvious he didn't want to dance with Sylvia. The girl was all but throwing herself at him and being the gentleman he was, he didn't want to start a scene. Trowa wore a martyred expression on his face as he allowed himself to be pulled onto the dance floor. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and she pulled him to her body. Trowa's hands were restraining on her waist, as he tried to keep distance between them. He was looking over her head as they danced, a bored expression evident on his strong face.

Relena's smirk disappeared. She hated seeing the woman all over Trowa. Turning back towards the table, Relena grabbed an abandoned glass of wine and sipped it slowly. She had lost count on the number of glasses she had tonight but didn't really care. They weren't going to be driving home anyway. Demetri had arranged for all the guests to have rooms at the hotel for the night.

A hand gestured out to her and she looked up to see Wufei standing by her side, remnants of a sneer on his face. Relena moaned loudly and let her head drop on the table as Wufei grabbed her tiny hand and towed her towards the dance floor once again. Relena kept her other hand safely wrapped around the glass.

* * *

Her tiny hand slowly traced down the buttons of his tuxedo, down his chest, down his stomach, towards his waistline…

Trowa grabbed the hand and held it up before the girl violated his privacy any more than she already had. Dancing with Sylvia was already painful enough, but to have her put her claws all over him was just plain unacceptable.

He had been sitting at the bar, arguing with Wufei about how Wufei should just admit he was in a relationship with Sally before Sylvia came to beg him to dance with her. Wufei had sputtered something about "weak onnas" when Sally came over and slapped him across the head and walked away. After Trowa had finished laughing enough to comment on how her slap didn't look very weak to him, Wufei began shouting about overdramatic women.

That's when Trowa felt someone's eyes on him. He finished his drink in one gulp- he wasn't sure what number he was on now and turned towards the dance floor, his eyes swiftly fixating on Relena's stare.

_God, she looks good,_ was the only thought that registered in his mind. The other thoughts were a combination of nonsense or inappropriate. What he would give to leave this party and stay in with her the rest of the night! He saw a young man approach Relena from behind, his hand extended outwards, ready to touch her shoulder and get her attention. The boy seemed to be smart though; his eyes followed where Relena stared and his mouth formed a little o as he registered _who_ she was staring at.

The Preventors were very serious with their work and were known to be a strong group. Obviously, the gundam pilots were all ranked as superiors at the Preventors' headquarters. They were well known and many people were aware of their pasts. Though all of them were still very young- younger than most of the other agents working as Preventors- they were considered the best and the most dangerous.

Yep, the man was no fool. Trowa could see him groan and hit his hand on his forehead before grumbling. The man turned and nearly ran into Duo, who stood behind him, glaring angrily as he saw the man nearly intrude on Relena and Trowa's moment. The man looked like he had swallowed something painful as he began to sweat and finally sputtered out what looked like an apology before running in the opposite direction.

Trowa smirked at this- and at the look on Relena's face. She was standing motionlessly on the dance floor, her eyes widened a little as she continued to stare at him. He was still thirsty, and bored, so he twirled his finger lightly, letting the bartender know to keep the drinks coming. He had a high alcohol tolerance level so he didn't have to be concerned about getting drunk… yet. When he heard the glass behind him, Trowa threw his arm back and grabbed the glass automatically, holding Relena's gaze. Lifting it slightly towards the pretty blond, Trowa toasted Relena and gulped the entire thing down. He saw her shiver slightly when his eyes caught hers again.

He knew they still had many hours of the party left before he could grab her and crush his mouth against hers. Not wanting to torture himself anymore, he turned away from her as a couple danced in between their eyesight. He couldn't feel her eyes on him anymore and he nearly groaned with disappointment. It was going to be a _long_ night.

That's when Sylvia Noventa found him. He was embarrassed to admit it, but truthfully, he had been hiding from Sylvia all night. He saw the girl when she came in. The girl had no modesty. She wore a revealing long red dress. Trowa grimaced when he saw her greet the other Preventors. She ran her hand across Duo's shoulder and instantly Duo stiffened. Hilde nearly ripped the other girl's arm off. Then she moved on to Quatre.

Quatre had his back turned to Sylvia when she came up to him. Her arms wound around his neck and she quickly pulled him into a hug. Poor Quatre had turned beat red from her display. And Dorothy… well Dorothy had turned beat red for another reason.

But none of these were going to be as bad as when she would find him, which is why Trowa hid. He tried to steer Relena and himself into the shadows of the dance floor but then Milliardo had come. After Trowa was forced to give up Relena, his quickly fled to the shadows of the fancy room and towards the bar where he found Wufei watching everyone.

After his little staring contest with Relena, he was so distracted that he didn't see the bleach blond approach him until it was too late.

Her fingers found his arm as she traced up towards his cheek. Trowa gritted his teeth.

"Trowa," she purred softly, "I've been looking for you all night. Come dance with me." She grabbed his hand and heaved.

After begging and threatening- they were threats to him, but she considered them to be promises of giving him kisses and spending the night together- Sylvia finally got him on the dance floor. _It's just one dance, Trowa, calm down. You're a Preventor and this is a mission. Complete your mission and return to your life,_ Trowa thought desperately as he gave himself a pep-talk.

But this one dance turned out to be lasting an agonizingly long time. For one, Sylvia seemed to under the impression that Trowa's personal space was her own also. She clung to him in an embarrassing fashion while he tried to restrain her. She also seemed to think that Trowa liked talking to her.

Wrong.

"Come on, Trowa, you must become tired of all this Preventor nonsense. You could take a vacation with me, stay in my house with me. I could use the company… and you would be… well taken care of." She breathed into his ear and began to drag her hand down his chest suggestively.

That's when Trowa had enough.

"Sylvia," he worked to keep the annoyance out of his voice, "I am perfectly content with my job as a Preventor and I have the best company already… Relena. Now if you will excuse me, I have to find my _girlfriend_." He emphasized the last word. Maybe it would finally get through to her that he was happy with Relena and wasn't looking for a tramp.

Sylvia stomped her foot and stormed away. _There was no way he'd rather be with Relena than with me. He just needs to know what I could offer him._

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Review, please! Remember, I'll only continue if people are interested, just one way to know, review!


	7. The Interrupted Moment

**Author's Note:** Thanks everyone for the reviews! Ok here's the deal, a lot of you are asking me who Relena is going to end up with, Heero or Trowa, and well the truth is, I 1) don't want to give anything away and 2) am still sorting out the answer for myself. Sorry! I know that probably doesn't ease your stress a whole lot but let's just enjoy the ride! Anyway, I'm busy with a lot of work lately but I'll try to update when possible.

By the way, I'm completely and totally in love with this chapter. I thought of the ideas for it a while ago and have finally gotten it just the way I want it to be! Hope you enjoy! Things are gonna get steamy! Don't forget to review :D

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**Chapter 7: The Interrupted Moment**

Relena slowly watched the bubbles in her champagne fizz to the top of the glass. After a couple of glasses of wine, she really started to feel the buzz. She dipped her fingers into the foam and closed her eyes as she brought her foam covered fingers to her lips.

Suddenly her fingers felt warm and moist and Relena jerked backwards in her chair. Trowa's warm tongue finished licking off the foam.

"I didn't know you liked champagne." He smirked at her and grabbed an empty chair to sit next to her.

Relena sighed deeply and put down her glass. "I don't." Trowa's tongue felt amazingly warm and had sent tingles all around her body. Even drunk, she still wanted him.

He raised his brow. "Then why are you drinking this stuff?" Long fingers gently pried the glass from her hand. He put it to his lips and sipped the liquid.

"Because I'm never going to get through the night without it. Plus, after watching you chug glass after glass, I was extremely motivated." Relena giggled lightly and reached out for Trowa.

Trowa quickly leaned forward in his seat and grabbed Relena before she fell over. "I think you've had enough to get you through the night and then some. The party's almost over anyway so I don't think it will be a problem if I take you to our room now."

An evil grin washed across Relena's face as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself off of her chair into his lap.

His eyes widened slightly as Relena began to whisper in his ear. "Mmm, yes, I don't think it will be a problem. In fact, I think it's the perfect solution." She paused slightly and traced her tongue lightly over his ear. "Did you enjoy your dance with Sylvia?"

Trowa let out a gasp as her tongue flicked across his ear. "No. You know I didn't." He closed his eyes tightly and tried to stay in control. She was making it difficult, not to mention he had enough alcohol to deem himself slightly drunk. Of course even drunk, he was more aware than the average person.

Relena leaned her head against his strong shoulder and laughed loudly. "Yeah, I know you didn't. I just like hearing it." Her finger slowly grabbed his tie and pulled at its end, pulling the knot out. With feathery touches, she traced patterns on his exposed neck with her tiny fingers

"Relena," Trowa nearly growled, "You're making this self-control thing very difficult right now. I'm sure your brother wouldn't like it much if I lay you on the table here and began to kiss you." He moved his head back to look at her and quickly slid her off of his lap. "Come on, let's go to our room." He grabbed her hand in one hand and her coat and purse in the other.

"Milliardo can't control our lives forever," Relena grumbled as she allowed Trowa to pull her towards the exit. Thankfully, they didn't run into Demetri again.

Trowa grabbed his phone from his pocket and called Quatre to let him and the others know that Relena and him were leaving. After grabbing their room key from the reception desk, Trowa pulled Relena into the elevator with him. It was empty.

Relena leaned against the back of the elevator while Trowa stood in front of her, his back towards her as he pressed the appropriate buttons. "What room are we in this time, Trowa?"

"Room 402, it's on the eighth floor and according to the receptionist, it's one of the best rooms. I guess Demetri's good for something, right?" Trowa spat the name out; clearly the prior incident was not forgotten.

Trowa suddenly jumped as he felt tiny hands encircle his waist. Relena pressed her face into his back. "It's a little too early to start assuming."

Trowa shifted in her embrace until he was facing her. Relena smiled wickedly at him as she pressed herself closer to his body. Her hands ensnared themselves in his soft brown hair and she tugged his face down to hers as she began to kiss him.

Immediately, Trowa felt himself hungry for the girl as he began to fiercely reciprocate her actions. His arms grasped her tiny waist and he effortlessly lifted her off of the ground, one hand on her back and the other on her waist as he pinned her body against the back wall of the elevator.

Taking advantage of her position, Relena wound her legs around Trowa's waist as his hands held on to her waist securely. Her arms held on to his shoulders as she dipped her head down to kiss along Trowa's jaw line.

Trowa's hands held on to Relena tightly and his breathing became ragged as the blond girl's lips left a fiery trail along his neck. A soft ding behind him told them they had reached their floor. Trowa's head turned quickly to see if anyone was in the hall. Relena didn't appear to notice. She was too busy raining kisses all over Trowa's neck.

Relena wound her legs tighter around Trowa's waist as he turned carefully and stumbled out of the elevator towards their hotel room. Relena wasn't heavy or anything, she was just distracting him… a lot.

Moving her face away from Trowa's neck, Relena quickly focused her attention on unbuttoning his shirt. Her tiny fingers had only unfastened the top two buttons before Trowa's hand hastily pulled her face back to his. His other hand held onto her hip, pulling her body into his roughly.

Her head dipped to kiss his exposed collarbone and neckline. Honey blond hair tickled his chest as she moved her face.

Relena's soft lips caressed Trowa's pale skin and sent strange tingles through him. "Relena… we need to get to… the door!" He gasped when her warm lips nipped a particularly sensitive part of his throat.

"Mmm, don't ruin it, Trowa." Relena grabbed Trowa's tie and pulled his face towards her.

Trowa kissed back fiercely, his hands gripping Relena's waist as he tried to pull the girl closer to him. _They needed to get to their room! What if someone caught them acting like this in public? What if it was Milliardo?_

That woke Trowa up. He pried his lips away from Relena's. He only had a few seconds before he would get himself lost in Relena again. Already her hands, tangled in his hair, were driving him crazy.

Quickly he located their door number. Pushing Relena against the door, Trowa plunged his hand into his pant pocket and produced the card key. Relena's spread butterfly kisses all over his neck and was moving up towards his face again. With a swift swipe, Trowa tore open the door and staggered inside the dark room, holding Relena up. The door slammed shut behind them.

Without bothering to put on any lights, Trowa had Relena's back against a wall. The moonlight came in through the enormous wall window and cast their bodies in shadows.

Relena's dress was hitched up around her thighs, her legs were still wound tightly around Trowa's waist, his body supporting their weight. Trowa's hand plunged through Relena's hair and held her face to his as he kissed her. His lips tore open her mouth and he tasted the inside of her sweet mouth. He smiled against her lips; she tasted like champagne and cherries.

Relena pulled away from Trowa's urgent kiss to whisper in his ear. "_Now_ we can thank Demetri. And you worried for nothing; see, we made it to the room just fine."

He growled lightly and her silvery laugh filled the room. His skin smelled like his cologne and Relena allowed it to fill all of her senses.

Trowa felt Relena's lips at his ear and his eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head as he fought to gather his lost control… again. Her fingers were pulling open his shirt and her lips kissed the newly exposed area of his chest.

He panted as he tore his face away from the vanilla scent of Relena's hair. "Relena… we… can't."

"All work and no play makes Trowa a dull boy." She whispered seductively in his ear.

"Relena, you're drunk," he tried to reason with her.

"Yes, I am."

He smiled against her hair.

"So are you" Her voice was a whisper against his skin as she continued to kiss his neck.

Trowa's voice was strained as he fought with himself "Slightly."

"So I don't understand the problem. Really…Trowa… I don't…understand… what… you're… waiting… for." As she spoke the words, she kissed around his face, careful to keep her lips away from his mouth in order to tempt him.

"Relena, no, we're not doing this now." His voice sounded raw and strained.

"Why not?" Relena's voice was a whisper over Trowa's jaw.

"Because I will not take advantage of you while you're drunk."

"You're not, I'm taking advantage of you."

His muscles tightened as her fingers trailed down his chest and he let out a chuckle.

"We both know I have a high alcohol tolerance level. I'm not drunk"

"That's what all drunk people say."

He couldn't argue with that logic. Trowa slowly pulled Relena's legs off of his waist and put her on her own feet. His hands cupped the sides of her face and his eyes bore into hers. Both of them were breathing hard.

"Relena, are you sure?" His soft hands caressed her face and his eyes were wild with excitement. But he was seriously asking her.

He was always like that, never ever pressuring her into anything. They had never slept with each other before. He had always been extremely careful to stop before anything happened. Relena would grumble many times and tell him to let her make her own decisions, but he would always just laugh and tell her the right moment would come. Nothing felt more right now.

When Relena's world felt strange to her, Trowa had come in and made everything right. She needed this boy. She wanted him.

"Trowa…I love you."

His eyes widened and then he was crushing his lips to hers. "I… love… you… Relena." Of course they had said the words to each other before, but now they held a new significance.

Trowa grabbed Relena's back and they stumbled and bumped their way into the huge bedroom. Relena quickly worked down Trowa's shirt, unbuttoning the rest of the buttons and pushing the jacket off of him. Unbuttoning his white collar shirt, Relena moved the shirt off of his shoulders and pushed him backwards onto the bed. She grinned at Trowa's shocked expression before jumping on the bed on top of him.

Her legs were on either side of Trowa's body as she leaned carefully over him. Strong hands wound themselves around her waist and held the girl close.

Relena's breath hitched as she felt Trowa's warm hand trace up and down her spine. His emerald green eyes gleamed wildly and he smirked at her dangerously. Suddenly his hands grabbed her thighs and flipped her gently over as he adjusted himself on top of her. He was careful to keep most of his weight off of her but Relena liked the weight of his legs over hers. Trowa pulled the little rubber band out of Relena's hair and gently smoothed her golden locks around her. "Absolutely beautiful," he mumbled against her throat.

She laughed lightly and pulled his face away from her neck where she could see his eyes. Her hand automatically brushed aside his long brown bangs. "You took the words right out of my mouth."

His smile was so beautiful and so genuine that Relena forgot how to breathe for a moment. It seemed like she had tasted his mouth a million times tonight but still she desired him as she pulled his face down to her again. He kissed her softly now, his lips slowly massaging against hers while his fingers moved through her wavy hair.

_Ring! Ring! _Trowa's forgotten jacket vibrated.

"Leave it," Relena murmured as Trowa adjusted himself on top of her. The phone continued to ring for a minute and Relena and Trowa tried to block out the annoying noise. Thankfully, it stopped and they threw themselves back into the moment.

_Ring! Ring!_

Trowa swore and Relena sighed loudly as he rolled off of her to lie on the bed next to her.

Relena reach up and grabbed the phone from Trowa's jacket pocket. She lifted the phone towards her eyes. "Evidently, Duo doesn't think this is the right moment." She dropped the phone into Trowa's waiting hand.

"I'm going to kill you, Duo." His voice was quiet and deadly. Relena could hear Duo's voice on the other end as he gave a strained chuckle and quickly began talking. Trowa sighed loudly and pulled a hand through his already-messy hair. "I understand. I'm on my way." He snapped the phone shut and lifted himself off of the bed. He looked at Relena apologetically.

"I'm so sorry, Relena but there's a situation downstairs. Lady Une needs me to come down as well."

Relena's eyes widened and she pushed herself up towards him. Trowa bent down quickly and gathered her in his arms. "What kind of situation? You'll be alright, won't you?"

Trowa leaned in and kissed Relena's forehead. She closed her eyes. "Of course I'll be fine. I'll be back before you know it. How can I stay away from you for too long?"

Relena was dimly aware of the fact that he had ignored her first question but she quickly pressed her lips to his. She hated it when he was called in like this. It was safe to assume that it was an emergency and that the Preventors needed as many of them as possible.

Trowa returned her urgency and wrapped his arms around her delicate frame. "Lady Une is going to brief me quickly on everything and I'll be back in 5 minutes to check on you."

"Okay. Don't keep me waiting." She reluctantly smiled as she got on her tiptoes towards him.

He smiled and lowered his face closer to hers. "Heaven forbid I keep an angel waiting."

After quickly pressing his lips to hers, he turned swiftly and walked out of the room.

Relena stared at the door, her heart thumping. _Please, please don't take Trowa from me also._

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Trowa slid the card key through the door and pushed it open. It was still dark inside and he quickly looked around the room to find Relena.

The room _was_ very majestic. The large suite had a small kitchen area in the corner and a door that lead to the bathroom at the side. The entire back wall was glass, overlooking the view outside. In the large living room area, there was a couch and an entertainment set with a desk and some chairs nearby. He supposed Demetri reserved this room for his important clients. Or for those he wished to impress. Like Relena.

Trowa scowled in the darkness. He was aware of the fact that Demetri desired Relena. The man had made it obvious with his comments and gestures; always grabbing Relena's hand and pulling her close to him. Trowa was more than ready to _personally _put Demetri in his place.

Trowa moved towards the bedroom and sighed in relief when he found Relena sleeping soundlessly on the gigantic bed. Her blue dress was draped over a chair in the corner of the room and she was wearing only her long white slip. He gathered the comforter from the edge of the bed and pulled it over her frame as he sat on the bed by her side. His fingers gently played with her hair as she slept.

She sighed deeply in her sleep. "Mmm. That feels amazing."

Trowa's eyes snapped to Relena's face. _Was she awake?_ He looked at her face. Relena's brilliant eyes were still concealed behind her lids, her breathing even. _No, still asleep._

His phone buzzed again impatiently. Trowa heaved a heavy sigh and got off of the bed to leave. When he was at the door, he heard Relena talk in her sleep again.

"I love you."

He smiled and closed the door quietly behind him.

"…Heero."

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Uh oh! Yep things are def gonna heat up! So tell me what you think! Review!


	8. The Nightmare

**Author's Note:** I'm so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time! I've had a ton of work not to mention a bad case of writer's block, then I needed to change the story around a little, and my computer was broken for a little while. Anyways, I really appreciate all of the reviews and must thank all of those who have been reviewing and giving me feedback since the beginning. Seriously, it helps!

Again, really really sorry. On the plus side, I can see where the story is going for the next few chapters and many parts are written already.

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**Chapter 8: The Nightmare**

Relena walked into the dark room. The only light that came in was through the barred window. Someone pressed something into a man who was tied to a chair. The man's face was twisted in what could only be described as sheer agony. He screamed out loud in pain before slumping over-

Relena gasped loudly and shot up in bed. "Trowa!" She reached out her hands in the darkness until she felt his body next to her. Trowa's arms were around Relena in an instant.

"Yes?" His voice was full of sleep. Relena felt a little embarrassed now, but the nightmare had seemed so real. His beautiful face had been twisted, in pain. Without being able to stop herself she burst into tears.

"Oh Trowa! Trowa…" She shook with the sobs and threw her arms around his neck, pulling herself as close as possible to him.

He shook the sleep out of his head. His eyes were wide with worry as he let his eyes adjust to the darkness. "Shhh. It's alright. You're safe with me, Relena. Shhh." His fingers were soothing on her back as he rubbed them in small circles.

Trowa tried to ask her what was wrong but Relena's intense sobbing frightened him too much. Instead he held her closely to his chest until she stopped shaking so much. Her hands clenched fistfuls of his white t-shirt and her tears drenched the front it.

Trowa was bewildered by Relena's behavior. He felt his heart twist as she continued to sob and hold on to him with a vice-like grip. "Relena… what's wrong? Please, tell me. You're safe here with me."

Relena gasped loudly and cried harder than ever. "Oh thank… goodness… Trowa!…. Trowa, you're okay!"

"Of course I am. Yesterday's situation has been taken care of. I told you not to worry." Trowa's voice was soft and soothing as he rubbed her back gently.

"No…no, I had a… nightmare! You were being… hurt!"

Trowa's emerald eyes widened at her confession and he gently pulled her face away from his chest so that he could wipe her tears away. "Relena, look at me. I'm fine. You're fine. We're here together."

Hesitantly, Relena reached out and touched Trowa's lips with her fingers lightly. Before he had a chance to say anything, Relena flung herself at him, kissing him fiercely on his lips with relief.

Trowa fell backwards on the bed, his head on a pillow as Relena moved over him. She sat next to his straight body and leaned forward to kiss him. One hand cupped his cheek while the other rested on the side of his neck. Trowa smiled against her lips and kissed her back. He was vaguely aware that she still tasted like champagne from the night before.

Carefully, he reached up and grasped her shoulders as he pushed himself back up into a sitting position. "How are you feeling, Relena?"

Relena sighed and looked into Trowa's deep green eyes. "Better now. Though I am feeling an intense headache on the way." She brought her fingers up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

Trowa laughed and wound his arms around her body, pulled them softly back into a lying position on the bed.

- - - - - -

Relena woke slowly. Sunlight was pouring into the room through the white curtains. She was extremely tired and felt like someone had hit her with a car. She hadn't slept well because of her nightmare. And all that champagne the night before probably didn't help either.

Her eyelids fluttered open and she smiled at the sight she was met with. Trowa was lying on the bed next to her, his face calm and peaceful as he slept on. His light brown bangs shadowed one side of his face and his lips parted slightly as he gently breathed in and out. One of his arms held her safely against his chest. Relena was extremely close to him, her leg was slung over his waist and his other hand rested on her thigh.

She took the moment to really look at Trowa. He was beautiful sleeping there. He was everything a girl could wish for; sweet, caring, polite, strong, handsome, and smart. Her fingers lightly touched his firm jaw line and traced up to the side of his face.

Slowly his eyes opened and for a moment they were a dark color. Memories suddenly flooded into her head of Prussian eyes and chocolate brown hair. Of a strong young man holding her close to his body when she had a nightmare. Of a soft, chaste kiss on her cheek. Of conversations and quiet evenings. Of Heero Yuy.

Relena shut her eyes tightly. Thankfully the memories extinguished. _What were with these memories anyway?_ It annoyed her that she still thought of _him_. But it also saddened her. Did he ever think of her also? Did he miss her as much as she missed him? Was he even alive?! _Forget it Relena! You have Trowa now!_ But could the heart forget that easily?

Sometimes she felt like she was searching for something else in her life. Right now she had everything she wanted; a good career, great boyfriend, amazing friends, and peace for the time-being. So what was she looking for? She had once heard a conversation between Cathy and Trowa.

Cathy was asking Trowa if he was truly happy. Relena had smiled at this. Of course Cathy would want to make sure her assumed brother was happy. Trowa had replied that he was, but that he felt like there was something missing for him. Like all the pieces didn't fit together as perfectly as they should.

Relena had been surprised by this revelation. She never told him she had overheard the conversation but it certainly made her think about her own life. Did she really have everything she wanted?

Her little reverie ended with Trowa's lips softly on hers. She smiled and wound her arms around his neck as he leaned over her. Whatever the case, there was no doubt in her mind that she couldn't get enough of this boy! Trowa's kisses were soft and gentle and she moaned lightly against his lips.

Suddenly the warmth of his body and the pressure of his lips vanished. Relena tore open her eyes and saw him getting off the bed. "Hey! Where do you think you're going? I wasn't done with you yet!"

She flung herself off of the bed and tottered after him. But she must have jumped off too fast. Dizziness overtook her and she felt the floor swell upwards. Her eyes snapped shut as she prepared to smash into the floor.

Instead she sighed in relief as she felt a pair of strong arms holding her tightly. She opened her eyes and smiled at Trowa, who seemed to be having trouble keeping a smirk off of his face. "Careful. I'm sure the champagne is going to make you extremely dizzy for today. I'm not going anywhere, just going to order room service. Some black coffee might help that hangover." He gently lead her back to the bed. "Do you want to change your clothes? You're only in your slip. The bellhops brought up our bags from the car."

"Yeah sure. But first…" Relena grabbed the collar of Trowa's shirt and pulled him down on the bed with her. She pulled him forward with more force than she meant to and Trowa tumbled down on top of her. Relena giggled loudly as Trowa rolled off her and laughed at her side.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to be so aggressive."

"Haha, it's okay. Really, I don't mind." He winked at her and she sighed. She would love to stay this way forever with him but there was something she needed to know.

"Trowa?"

"Hmm?"

"What was that situation about last night when Lady Une needed all of you?"

Trowa looked away pointedly. He didn't like telling Relena about missions and making her worry for no reason. Plus, it was for her safety that she didn't know. That way, no one would involve her. "Umm. It was nothing really. Just some comments a guest made while he was drunk. He was escorted out and is being held until his interrogation."

She pressed further. "What kind of comments?"

Trowa sighed. Perhaps he should just tell her. It was about her, after all. "Truthfully we don't know what he was going on about either. Something about getting a new leader and replacing the old leader."

Relena stared at Trowa in alarm. "New leader? A new leader for what?"

"Yes… they want a unified leader to serve as a sort of dictator over Earth and the colonies…" Trowa played with Relena's hair, all the while avoiding her eyes.

"Trowa, what aren't you telling me?"

"When I say they want a new leader, I mean they want you replaced."

"Me?! But I'm not in charge of anything!"

"I know you don't see yourself as a leader. But I believe it's a resistance group who wants you replaced because you're so influential. Relena, the people trust you and therefore follow anything you agree with." Trowa pulled Relena against him and whispered in her hair. "Don't you worry. It was nothing and I will protect you. You will always be protected."

Relena winced slightly from his words. They were the same as Heero's. "Yeah, yeah. You guys are always saying that," she muttered against his chest. She pushed herself gently away from Trowa to look into his eyes. "I'm not worried about me. I worry about you, Trowa. This could be dangerous."

Trowa began to laugh and Relena scowled. "Don't worry, Relena, I'll be careful. I'm an ex-gundam pilot remember?"

Relena rolled her eyes. "Yeah, how could I forget?"

- - - - - -

A week had passed since Demetri's party and Relena was excited to go to a different party. Duo and Hilde were having their little get-together barbeque.

Relena stepped out of her bathroom and rolled her eyes when she spotted Trowa napping. He was lying on his stomach on top of her bed, his face hidden in a pillow. Duo and Hilde had said to wear bathing suits because they had just finished their new pool. So Trowa lay there in only his swim trunks.

Relena suddenly had a wicked idea as she jumped onto her bed and sat on Trowa's back.

When Trowa couldn't seem to get air into his lungs easily, his subconscious tore him away from his dream into reality and he awoke coughing. He turned his face slightly to the side and saw Relena sitting on his back. The pretty blond was laughing her head off.

"Relena, are you trying to kill me?" Trowa's voice was muffled as he turned his face back into the soft pillow.

Lightly smacking him on the back, Relena put her arms across her chest and huffed angrily. "What are you inferring, Trowa? And be very careful what you say."

Grinning into the pillow, Trowa turned his face again to the side to answer Relena. "I only meant that one day you'll shock me to death. You know you're a size perfect to me."

"Good answer, Prince Charming." Relena smiled and leaned forward to kiss Trowa's bare back. The skin was warm and soft and Relena rained kisses down his spine slowly.

Trowa felt the light pressure from Relena's lips and he felt the urge to flip over and grab her closer to him.

Relena pulled herself off of Trowa's back and tugged on his shoulders lightly, flipping him over. She sat on his stomach lightly and bent forward to rested her head into the crook of his neck.

Trowa looked at Relena. She was wearing a simple red and white striped one-piece swimsuit with a sheer white skirt as a cover-up. Her honey blond hair tickled his neck and he couldn't help but think how perfect the moment was. His arms found their way around her waist and he held her to him.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes before Trowa's cell phone began to ring. Relena sighed and pulled herself off of Trowa as he turned to grab his phone from the nightstand.

His jabbed the answer button and held the phone to his hear. Relena could hear Quatre's voice on the other end.

"Yes Quatre, tell Duo we'll be there soon." Trowa shut the phone and pulled his t-shirt over his head before turning to Relena and offering his hand. "Shall we? They're waiting for us."

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Thanks for reading... how did you like the chapter? Please remember to review, I'll love you for it.


	9. The Mystery

**Author's Note:** Hey everyone! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I was a little discouraged that the last chapter only had a few reviews but I have high hopes for this one. Please please please review! I'm trying my hardest to keep popping out these chapters as soon as I can. Reviews really help! Make sure to review for this story! (It brings a smile to my face :D)

Enjoy!

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**Chapter 9: The Mystery**

Before Trowa had a chance to press the little silver doorbell, Duo had yanked open the door and pulled both Trowa and Relena each into a bear hug.

"Finally! What took you Tro-man? Keeping him busy, eh Princess?" Duo winked suggestively at the two as they blushed.

Hilde came up behind Duo and smacked him across the back of the head.

"Damn, woman, that hurt!" Duo rubbed his head gingerly and grabbed Hilde around the waist as she squealed and tried to get away.

"Everyone is out by the pool. Go ahead and make sure to grab some food. Don't worry, I didn't cook anything so you won't get food poisoning. Duo made sure to do everything," Hilde added grudgingly as Trowa and Relena grimaced slightly. They had all tasted Hilde's cooking before and she wasn't joking.

"I know how you feel, Hilde. If it wasn't for Trowa I'd probably starve!" Relena smiled and hugged her friend quickly before Trowa lead her towards the back patio.

"Well, they have to be good for something!" Hilde's voice carried out to them before they heard her giggle loudly. "Duo, stop! No… not right here, Duo!" Relena and Trowa quickly walked out of sliding patio door into the sunlight.

- - - - - -

The day was perfect. Bright, warm sunrays beat down on everyone as they enjoyed the little reunion. It had been too long since they had all gotten together.

After eating burgers and hot dogs, Duo suggested they all cool off into the pool. Dorothy had insisted they all wait 30 minutes but everyone ignored her and jumped in.

Sally was splashing Wufei with water and after sputtering about "annoying onnas," he began to retaliate. They really were so cute together; if Wufei could just put his stubborn attitude aside, they could enjoy their time as a couple.

Duo and Hilde were holding a contest to see who could hold their breath under water the longest. Duo seemed to be winning until Hilde ducked her head under water and kissed him.

Quatre was trying to persuade Dorothy to let go of the 30 minutes rule and come into the water. She was perched on the edge of the pool with her legs dangling in the water. Quatre was in the pool, his body in between Dorothy's legs. He soon wound his arms around her waist to pull her towards him for a kiss. Right before their lips could meet, he pulled Dorothy into the water. She shrieked loudly and attempted to drown him as he swam around to escape her hands, laughing loudly.

Relena was floating on a water float peacefully until Trowa attempted to jump on and sunk their float. She was soaked again and was glaring at him angrily as he smiled sheepishly.

Finally, Duo suggested they all play a game of chicken.

"Chicken? What's that?" Relena looked at Duo curiously.

"It's really simple. You girls pair up with us and get on our shoulders. Then you need to try to knock someone else off of their guy. We'll make it a tournament." Suddenly Duo had a wicked glint in his cobalt blue eyes. "Losers have to go skinny dipping at our next reunion."

This caused an uproar. Quatre and Relena both blushed while Dorothy and Wufei began to argue against it ardently. Trowa was determined not to lose and Sally was laughing hysterically. Hilde smacked Duo across the head again.

Finally they all agreed to the stakes, grumbling slightly. Now the game was definitely more competitive for the gundam pilots.

The first round was Wufei and Sally versus Trowa and Relena. Relena had trouble getting on Trowa's shoulder since he was so tall but finally, after nearly drown Trowa, she jumped on and Trowa grabbed her calves and held her securely. Sally and Wufei argued the entire time. Wufei continued to yell orders to Sally, who was busy telling him to shut up and to worry about keeping his balance. In the end, Trowa and Relena won because the other two were too busy arguing with themselves and lost their balance. Sally fell back into the water and the two resumed their argument when she resurfaced.

Round two was between Duo and Hilde and Quatre and Dorothy. Dorothy was ruthless and it looked like her and Quatre would win. She had grabbed Hilde's hands and was attempting to throw her off but Duo kept Hilde securely on his shoulders and all of Dorothy's flailing made it harder for Quatre to hold onto her. Dorothy ended up kicking Quatre by accident and his hands lost their grip on Dorothy's legs as she tumbled into the water.

The next round was against the two winners of the preliminary rounds. Duo and Hilde versed Trowa and Relena. All of them gave it their best but Duo and Hilde finally won.

The next match became desperate because the loser of this round would have to go skinny dipping at their next reunion. It was between the two losers of the first rounds. Again, Wufei and Sally's arguing caused them to lose and the two were laughed at for quite some time. Sally was blushing but had a slight smile on her face while Wufei was yelling about indecency.

Afterwards, the guys had started a game of water basketball as Duo set up the two hoops on the opposite ends of the pool. The girls all dried off and sat on the pool recliners by the side of the pool and chatted.

"Sally, don't worry. I'm sure you'll get _something_ out of this whole mess!" Dorothy grinned evilly as Hilde and Relena joined in laughing. Dorothy was just relieved that it wasn't going to be her and Quatre stripping in front of everyone else.

"Oh shut up!" Sally snapped back, blushing again.

All off had a good laugh at Sally's expense and then Hilde remembered something. "So, you all heard about the incident at the party the other night? How crazy right?"

The other nodded quickly. "Yeah, it was definitely serious. Lady Une is currently working out the details of the latest mission but I think it has to do with this whole ordeal. All of them will probably be assigned to this mission. We're getting called into Lady Une's office tomorrow." Sally's voice was grave and Relena couldn't help but remember her nightmare.

Dorothy looked stressed. "Yes, Quatre did mention that Lady Une wanted to speak to them all."

Hilde glanced at Relena. "Did Trowa mention anything about a possible mission?" Everyone knew that if there was a sore subject between Trowa and Relena, the missions was it. Trowa was determined to protect Relena at all costs and believed that she didn't need to be worried about the missions. Relena just wanted to know about the missions so that she could know if Trowa was alright or not.

Relena bit her lip. "No."

The other girls looked away uncomfortably.

- - - - - -

Work the next day was boring and uneventful. Relena was seriously considering skipping her afternoon meetings to find Trowa and see if Lady Une told him anything yet. Since her office building also had a wing of the Preventors organization for security purposes, she was sure she could find something out if she tried hard enough. Her eyes kept becoming unfocused as her mind wandered away from office work. She pressed the intercom button.

"Yes, Ms. Relena?" Her secretary, Millicent's voice buzzed through. Her voice held amusement in it. Relena had been buzzing her all morning to see if Millicent knew anything about Trowa going to see Lady Une or any of the other gundam pilots. They might work as leaders of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, but idle gossip seemed to be an inevitable fact in office buildings. Relena and Millicent had become friends and so Relena knew she could count on her for finding out anything.

Relena's voice was sheepish. "Sorry to bother you again, Millicent but I was hoping you found something else out about Trowa and if he went to see Lady Une?" She played with her fingers as she waited for a response.

"Sorry, Miss Relena. I haven't heard if any of the gundam pilots have seen Lady Une. Perhaps you should just ask Preventor Barton when you see him later?"

Relena grumbled lightly. "Thanks anyway. No, Preventor Barton will probably be too busy annoying me to death by not telling me about his stupid mission later on." She cut the connection of the intercom and sank back into her leather mahogany chair.

Millicent smiled gently. _Those two need to work this problem out, that's for sure_.

- - - - - -

Relena decided to at least _try_ to busy herself in work and it certainly had worked. A beep from her intercom made her jump so high that all of the papers in her hand scattered around the room.

Millicent's voice rang through the room. "Thank you for letting me leave early, Miss Relena. I really hate family dinners but since my brother is finally home, my parents are making this mandatory. I'm sure when I'm home my parents will criticize everything from my clothes to my boyfriend. Will you be alright for the remaining hour?"

Sighing deeply Relena made her way over to the intercom and pressed a button. "It's alright, Millicent. Wait… you have a boyfriend? Thank you for dealing with me today. Can I bother you with one last question?…"

"…-No, I still haven't seen Preventor Barton. I'm sorry. And no, I don't have a boyfriend but my parents will first complain that I don't have a boyfriend and then they'll move into criticizing my future boyfriend!"

Pulling a hand through her hair roughly, Relena nodded slightly. "Thanks again. And I hope you have fun at your family dinner tonight!"

She heard Millicent growl. "Yeah… fun. I guess we all have to put up with things for the ones we love right?"

Relena laughed. "Yes, we sure do. Make sure to survive dinner in that case. I'll miss you if you don't return tomorrow."

"I'll make a deal with you, Miss Relena. I'll try to survive dinner without strangling my mother and you try to survive the rest of the day without strangling Preventor Barton. Without Preventor Barton, who else is going to make all of the other women here salivate?"

Relena rolled her eyes. "I'm not making any promises. And the other women need to get a grip."

"Well you can't blame them, he is hot!"

"_Goodbye_ Millicent," Relena stressed through the intercom, grinning slightly.

"Have a good evening, Miss Relena."

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Well well well, a mission!? Don't forget to review!!!! I know you want to.... please? :D


	10. The Argument

**Author's Note:** I have a bunch of good ideas for the rest of this fic and I'm happy many of you are enjoying it. If you read the fic, all I ask is that you **review** it. Seriously, the reviews are helpful and I generally love getting them so when you read the fic, review it. Also, I have quite a lot of other projects I am working on so if there isn't enough interest in this fic, I'll just put it off until I finish some of the other projects that are getting more attention.

Thanks so much everyone and hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!! Eat lots of turkey!!!!

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Chapter 10: The Argument

Relena could sense it was almost time for the work day to end. She just wanted to pull out _one _last file and get it done before it was time to leave. Since Millicent had left, she decided there was virtually no way for her to find out if Trowa went to see Lady Une without standing out in the hall herself.

Relena stood in front of the file cabinet, her fingers working through the hundreds of papers to find the documents she needed. Suddenly she felt arms wind their way around her waist and she smiled.

"Mmm, Trowa, where have you been all morning?"

However, a silky voice that didn't belong to Trowa answered. "Relena, I hope I'm not bothering you."

Relena pulled herself out of Demetri's arms quickly and took a step back. How dare he! The man was impossible!

"D-Demetri! What are you doing here?"

Demetri grinned lazily at her. Although Relena was not attracted to him, she wasn't stupid enough to deny that he was incredibly sexy and gorgeous. His messy blond hair and blue-gray eyes were vibrant against the harsh black power suit he wore. Relena saw his eyes flick downwards and work their way up as he slowly took in her appearance. She subconsciously tightened her arms around her chest.

He took a step towards her and she took one back until her back was pressed against the wall with him leaning over her. "Relena, I have the papers you need for next week's presentation." To make his point, he flashed a set of papers between them.

She was suddenly aware of how small her office was. His one arm wound itself around her waist. Demetri's breath fanned across her face and Relena could feel the fabric of his pants against her bare legs.

"Thank you. You can leave them on my desk." Relena mentally cursed herself. Her voice was shaky. But she really couldn't help it. The man gave her the creeps!

She felt his hand brush against hers as he traced her fingers up her arm slowly. "I've finally caught you alone. I swear between your Preventor boyfriend, your secretary, and your schedule, I never have a chance to see you. But you know, you could always come to visit me in _my_ office. I have a large couch that serves as more than just sitting." He dropped his head and leaned towards her lips.

Outraged, Relena set her hands firmly on his chest and pushed with all her might. Demetri staggered backwards and Relena extracted herself from his grip. Her eyes blazed angrily. "Don't get carried away, Demetri. I'm not interested in you and don't appreciate your innuendos," she spat.

Demetri laughed and grinned at her seductively. "Relena, don't make this harder than it has to be. What kind of life could you possibly have with that Preventor? You never know where he is when he's on missions and in a few years, you'll tire of him always running off on them." He reached out and grabbed her wrist roughly. "Do you honestly think you can have a future with him?" Demetri was in mid-step moving towards her when suddenly the door opened.

Relena wretched her wrist out of Demetri's grip. She sighed in relief as she saw Trowa swiftly walk to her side. His emerald eyes glared at Demetri and his voice, through soft, was none the less dangerous. "Is there a problem here?"

Demetri shrugged his shoulders and kept his eyes fastened on Relena. "No problem here, Preventor Barton," he sneered. "I just came to drop off these documents for Relena." He held the papers up again and Relena snatched them out of his hands. He held his hands up in mock surrender and turned to leave. "Oh and Relena, don't forget about what I said."

The door slammed shut behind him.

Relena sighed and turned around to face Trowa. He cocked an eyebrow up. "What did he mean?"

Relena looked down at her feet. She didn't want to tell Trowa about Demetri's opinion of them unable to have a relationship because of his involvement as a Preventor. She was afraid Trowa would agree with Demetri- that Relena should be with someone who wasn't always running away on missions.

Trowa's arms wrapped around Relena's waist as he pulled her towards him. She rested her head comfortably on his chest. She felt safe with him. It didn't matter to her that he was a Preventor, an ex-soldier. She only wanted to know where he was going so he had someone to worry about him. Sometimes Trowa reminded her painfully of Heero. Both were convinced their life meant so little and that it wasn't fair for Relena to worry about them.

"Oh, you know him. Just being a sleaze." She answered softly as she buried her face deeper into his preventor uniform.

- - - - - -

By the time they got to Relena's house, she was convinced that Lady Une had spoken to Trowa and the others. Trowa was acting like he usually did when he got a mission. He became quiet as if he was focusing on something far away.

Relena walked into her house as Trowa locked the door behind them. As she watched him walk away towards the large library, she was positive that he had gotten a mission. He usually worked on his computer for hours on end when he received a mission.

After throwing dinner together, Relena balanced a tray on her hip and began to walk towards the library when she felt the tray lifted out of her hands. Trowa held the tray in one hand as he lead Relena upstairs towards her bedroom with the other.

"We're eating upstairs tonight?" She questioned as she pulled open her door.

"Yes. I have some work to do on my laptop tonight."

They had eaten dinner in silence and as soon as they were finished Trowa returned to her desk in front of his laptop.

Relena walked into the bathroom and changed into her silky nightgown. Looking into the mirror, she saw her face was determined. Relena was going to find out about the mission this time!

She tiptoed silently towards Trowa, who back was facing her as he leaned over his laptop. Gently her fingers glided over his shoulders as she applied a little pressure and began to give him a backrub.

She felt him tense at first and then he slowly relaxed into her kneading touch. "Trowa," she purred lightly into his ear, "you're so tense. Let's relax with some t.v. tonight."

Trowa stood up and walked towards the bed and Relena felt a surge of victory. That had been easy! However her short-lived bliss was squashed when she felt Trowa gently put her robe over her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Relena. I have work to do tonight. I'll go downstairs to work so you can enjoy t.v." He moved to grab his laptop.

"Trowa, I know you were supposed to see Lady Une today. It's a mission right? What's it about?" Perhaps being direct would get her more answers, Relena thought.

She saw Trowa stiffen. "I can't tell you, I'm sorry. But I'm leaving early tomorrow for the mission so I probably won't be here in the morning." He turned to leave.

Immediately Relena felt herself grow furious. After waiting the whole day in suspense and worry there was no way she was going to just let him walk out! "Trowa, wait! Come back here and answer me! You're always doing that. As soon as a mission comes, you never tell me about it! You just sit on your computer for hours or leave for the day."

"I told you, I just can't tell you, Relena! It's for your own safety!" Trowa's voice was angry too now. Why didn't she just understand! He was trying to keep her safe.

"I asked Lady Une once and she said that she's never restricted you guys from telling your girlfriends! Quatre tells Dorothy where he's going. Duo tells Hilde what's going on. Sally knows where Wufei is. But you, all _you_ do is keep silent for days! It's like talking to a wall when you're like that!"

"Really? Well then at least you have many walls over here that you can choose from. Since I'm such awful company when I'm like that, maybe I should just work solely on the missions when I get assigned to them then instead of staying with you. Obviously I'm not pleasant to be around," Trowa snapped back.

Relena's fists clenched. "You know what I mean! I like having you around. I love it! Just tell me about your missions. But I can't stand you not being yourself during those times. I only want what's best for you."

"I think I'm capable of taking care of myself. I've been doing it a long time before you and I starting dating. You didn't seem so worried about me then!"

Relena gasped and Trowa was instantly sorry. She knew he was referring to a time when Heero was still with them and when Relena had been obsessed with only Heero. She hated Trowa for saying that. She hadn't gotten a chance to get close to him back then and he was always closing himself off from people. It wasn't all her fault.

"Relena, I'm sorr-"

"Get out."

"Please, Relena. I didn't mean it."

"I said get out. Go do your stupid mission and then we'll talk when you get back."

Trowa's anger came back as he stared at Relena. She always became angry or upset if the subject of Heero came up. He was sometimes worried she would never get over it. And she accused _him_ of closing himself off when in reality she was doing the same thing. He couldn't stand it! People were always telling him to open up yet they never took their own advice.

He bowed down mockingly as he replied in an icy voice. "Your wish is my command, your highness."

Relena heard the door slam and she grabbed a pillow from her bed and threw it at the door. She hated it when someone would make a reference to her princess title like that. It made her seem less capable of her position and almost as if it had been handed to her instead of her working for it.

Relena sighed deeply and her fingers massaged the bridge of her nose. Why did she act like that towards Trowa?

She knew why. His behavior when he was given a mission reminded her too much of Heero- and she couldn't stand it. Her cell phone suddenly buzzed and she flipped it open. It was Preventor Headquarters.

"Ms. Relena, we are sending another Preventor to watch over you for the remainder of the evening since Preventor Trowa Barton has said he is unavailable."

"Yes, thank you."

She shut the phone and buried her face in her pillow. Her anger was already gone and she only wanted to hold Trowa and apologize. She had truly been beyond monstrous the entire day and he was only trying to protect her by not having her worry about the missions.

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If you read it, review it! Thanks again and have a great Thanksgiving.


	11. The Nagging Begins

**Author's Note**: Hello everyone!!!!!! Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'd really like to see some more reviews for this chapter. Like I've said before, I have high hopes for this fic but if there's not enough interest, I'll try to finish my other fics first. Come on guys, please please please please!!!!

That being said, I've gotta thank the loyal readers and reviews who have been sticking with this fic! Thanks a bunch!

Happy Holidays to all! :D

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**Chapter 11: The Nagging Begins**

The other Preventors were already at the base when Trowa arrived. Trowa didn't speak to any of them as he walked into the transport plane and sat down in one of the seats.

The others exchanged a look.

Quatre came aboard and sat next to Trowa while Duo and Wufei sat across from them. The plane was cramped and the seats faced each other so Trowa could not hide from them.

He cringed mentally at what he knew was coming. Trowa was grateful that he had the other gundam pilots as his friend but sometimes he missed his isolation days when he didn't need to worry about the other nagging him about what was wrong. This was definitely going to be one of those days when he wished he still worked alone.

"So I take it you and Relena got into a fight before you left. I'm guessing you didn't get a little action in before you left then." Duo tried to lighten the mood but Trowa glared at him and closed his eyes as he let his head fall back against the head rest. Relena and him always seemed to get angry with each other when he had to leave on missions. But this was their worst fight.

"Trowa-" Quatre's soft voice prodded further.

"She wanted to know about the mission." Trowa said softly.

"And?"

"And I didn't tell her, okay?" Trowa snapped angrily before glaring out of the window next to him.

Quatre tried to reason with his friend. "Trowa, perhaps you should tell Ms. Relena about our missions. You two have been seeing each other for quite some time now. You know, it makes you feel better as well to have someone else care about you. It was an amazing feeling when I finally began to tell Dorothy about the missions."

"No."

Duo leaned forward. "Come on, Trowa! Hilde still hates me going on missions but at least she knows what's going on. You can't have an honest relationship if one of you is…well, not honest!"

"No."

Wufei rolled his eyes and put his arms across his chest. "Be a man, Barton. Just give the onna a quick description or she'll annoy you to death."

"No."

The three gundam fighters sighed heavily and shrugged as Trowa let his head hit the window.

This was definitely going to be a long trip.

- - - - - -

They finally landed about 5 hours later. As soon as the plane began to slow down, Trowa unbuckled his seat belt and strode towards the exit. To say that the trip had been long would be an understatement.

During the entire 5 hours, Duo spent about 2 hours and 25 minutes trying to persuade Trowa to give Relena a call and apologize while also not giving in to her every demand and also being considerate yet firm the entire time. How Trowa was supposed to do this was still to be determined.

Of the remaining time, Quatre decided to give Trowa all of the pros of telling Relena about his missions for 2 hours and 25 minutes. He also listed random instances when he and Dorothy fought yet solved their conflicts by being honest with each other. Quatre's view of the world was full of sunshine and flowers, Trowa decided.

Trowa bitterly thought of taking his pillow and suffocating himself.

But that was not all. The remaining ten minutes of the trip were taken by Wufei, who full heartily tried to explain to all of the others why women were manipulative with all of their feelings and hormones. When the subject of Sally came up, he was suspicious quiet.

While he waited for the plane to come to a complete stop, Trowa stared at his cell phone. A picture of Relena and him from Demetri's dinner was there. Noin had taken the picture for them. It was one of Trowa looking at the camera while Relena leaned forward and was kissing his cheek.

Trowa sighed. Maybe he was being too overprotective. He couldn't get Relena's expression before he left out of his head. Her eyes were wide and hurt when he hinted at the subject of Heero.

His fingers moved to hit the speed dial button so that he could hear her voice.

"Come on, buddy! No more time for moping. We've got a mission to complete so that we can get home to our girls!… Well, maybe you might not want to get back to your girl so quickly, ya know, give her some time. I don't know about you, but when Hilde's mad at me, boy does she have some killer aim. I mean the woman seriously picks up any object that's close to her and chucks it at me!" Duo slung his arm around Trowa's neck and pulled him off the plane.

Quatre's voice floated from somewhere behind them. "That's right, Trowa. Give her some time to cool down and then talk about it with honest communication. I promise it'll do a world of good!"

Trowa heard Wufei mutter something along the lines of "Some quiet will do us all some good."

Wufei was quickly rising on Trowa's 'best friend' list.

- - - - - -

Relena lay across her bed hugging her pillow. She really wished she hadn't been so irritated with Trowa.

His words reverberated through her head uncomfortably. _"I think I'm capable of taking care of myself. I've been doing it a long time before you and I starting dating. You didn't seem so worried about me then!"_

Trowa's expression had been bitter and angry as he gazed at her. She sighed and pushed her face into the soft material of her pillow. She stretched out her arms and her hands

Had she really been that blind to Trowa before? Were his feelings for her obvious enough yet she still couldn't see them with Heero's image surrounding her mind?

Her fingers closed around something soft and she pulled her face away from her pillow. It was the teddy bear Heero had given Relena for her birthday a long time ago.

Relena reached out for the bear and sat up on her bed. It was a plain teddy bear with a red ribbon tied around its neck, nothing remotely special. Yet she took immense care of it. She always packed it with her when she went on any sort of trips.

Relena's fingers lightly ran over the soft fur of the bear. "Why are you so important to me?" she murmured softly to herself. Dark chocolate hair lifted to reveal a perfect face. Prussian blue eyes gazed at her with intensity. An echo of a voice rang through her head. _"Relena."_

Her hands clamped themselves over her ears as her face screwed up in pain. "Stop it! You left me!" she cried out loud and threw the bear across the room. Her breathing was heavy and it took a couple of minutes before she was able to calm down and the haunting voice no longer rang through her ears.

Of course. She was fooling no one if she thought there was another reason why the bear was so important to her. It was Heero. Even after it had been years, she still couldn't give him up. His image was slowly fading away in her mind because she tried so hard to suppress it. _How pathetic_, Relena thought sadly as she gazed at the discarded bear across the room.

_Ding Dong! _

Relena jumped slightly. She had completely forgotten that the Preventors would be sending a replacement bodyguard for her since Trowa had left.

Again she felt a pang of guilt as she thought of Trowa.

_Ding Dong!_

"Oh, I'm coming!!!!" She grumbled slightly as she pulled herself off of her bed and made her way towards the front door.

_Trowa must be getting ready for his mission_, she thought sadly. What if something happened to him? They had left on such bad terms. She didn't even know how long he was going away for.

Her thoughts made her even more anxious and upset. "Ugh, I'm so rotten," she mumbled before yanking open the door.

Relena put on a fake smile as she gestured into her house. "Come on in. Sorry it took me so long to get the door!"

"That's alright, Miss Relena. We're actually going to be leaving soon anyway."

"Leaving? Where are we going?" she asked puzzled.

"On a little trip." And with that a fist reached out and punched Relena in her stomach. Her eyes widened before she crumbled into the arms of the man.

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Oh man!!!! REVIEW!!!!!! ---- please :D!!!!


	12. The Boss

**Author's Note**: Hey guys! Thanks to the overwhelming response and reviews to this fic, I worked as quickly as I could to get this chapter up so thanks to you all! The crazy number of reviews for the past chapter made me want to hurry and put up the next chapter so make sure to keep reviewing! I'm really excited for where the story is going and I absolutely loved the reviews and guesses on who kidnapped Relena :D.

Please please please please review and I promise to try my hardest to put chapters as soon as I can. I hope everyone had a great New Year and enjoy the chappie!

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**Chapter 12: The Boss**

Relena's eyes opened slowly. "Argh… where am I?" Her hand rubbed against her forehead and slowly eyes took in her surroundings.

She winced slightly as she sat up. Her chest and stomach ached and the room around her swirled uncomfortably. Relena's hands grabbed her head, which was thumping painfully. _Just what had happened?_

Then she remembered. She had gone to open the door for the Preventor bodyguard. He had turned around after saying something strange about 'taking a trip' somewhere and had punched her in the stomach. Everything blacked out from there.

Relena's eyes widened. _She had been kidnapped!_ Her eyes quickly looked around her. She was resting on a luxurious king-sized bed. The entire room was majestic. Large couches were in the middle of the room with a coffee table in between them. The door was to her left and large windows were on the right side. The furnishings were all expensive looking. The room was truly beautiful. _Where am I?_

The door suddenly opened and Relena gasped. In walked none other than Demetri.

"De-Demetri!"

He turned towards her and grinned. "It looks like you're finally awake, Relena."

- - - - - -

After landing, the gundam pilots were ushered by a Preventor into a limousine that was waiting for them. Since there were Preventors spread all around the world, they were taken to the Preventors' base closest to their location.

The gundam pilots crowded into a small room for their mission briefing. It was a tiny room with room for about twenty people with a computer in the front. A video monitor was in the front as well as a projector that illuminated the computer's screen.

"Okay. My instructions are to give Preventor 02: Duo Maxwell this envelope. Good luck." The preventor handed Duo a large manila enveloped, saluted the others and left the room.

"Well, well, let's get this show on the road. You guys know the drill," Duo laughed as he tore open the envelope. Everyone sprang into action.

Quatre switched on the video monitor in the front of the room while Trowa inserted the cd Duo handed to him into the disc slot. Wufei turned on the computer and typed in his password and user id in the Preventors' secure website.

Duo pulled out a piece of paper from the envelope. "Yep, good job guys. Looks like we've already basically completed the 'check-list' for the mission briefing. Plus I think we have a new record!" He gleefully clapped his hands together and Wufei sighed deeply.

"Why did I agree to come on this mission?" Wufei murmured.

"Since this is standard procedure, let's just get it over with," Trowa growled. He was getting more and more irritated with himself for being so awful to Relena. He just wanted to complete this stupid mission and go back to her already!

"Okay, okay. Keep your shirt on," Duo said under his breath before reading the letter. "'Debriefing Instructions: the person addressed on the front of the envelope must hand this letter to another person on the same mission for confidentiality and identification purposes.' So… who wants it?! Tro-man? Wufei? Quatre?" Duo grinned.

Trowa sat there, emotionless. Wufei turned his face in disgust. Quatre rose from his seat and took the paper from Duo.

"Thank you, Duo. Okay so the rest of the letter starts the checklist, which we have pretty much completed. 'Switch on the video monitor: check. Insert the attached cd into the disc slot…"

"Check," Trowa said.

Quatre continued. "Turn on the computer and go to the Preventors secure website. Log on…"

"Check," Wufei nodded.

Quatre smiled and clicked a button on the computer. "Right, so we're now ready for live feed from Lady Une." He switched off the lights as he sat down in a seat next to Trowa.

Lady Une's face popped up on the projection screen. She was a strong woman and her appearance illustrated her harshness. She had risen in ranks when she was under Treize Khushrenada and now no one dared to disobey her orders. While she seemed callous and unfriendly, there was another side of her. Without her hair pulled into a tight bun and her glasses on, it was as if she was a different person. Softer and easy-going.

The four pilots rose and saluted before sitting down again. Lady Une nodded in acknowledgement. "Welcome. As I have let you all know before, this is a mission pertaining to the hints we received at the night of Mr. Demetri s charity banquet from a guest who spoke of having a dictator seize full power of the Earth and the colonies. We have since identified the group, although the leader is yet to be discovered. The group goes by the code name of 'Black Ice' and have begun moving forward with their plans. Your mission is to confiscate all of their weapons from their base, as well as capture or take out as many of their members as possible."

The pilots stood. "Mission accepted," they said in unison.

- - - - - -

Relena could hardly believe her eyes. "Demetri! What are you doing here?"

He smirked at her and leaned against the closed door. "Relena, come now, I'm sure you can piece this together."

He took a step forward and Relena shifted slightly away. That was when she noticed her hands were handcuffed to a steel chain that was over the headboard of the bed. It was a long enough chain that allowed her only enough movement to shift around on the bed.

Relena looked at him in shock. "You- You kidnapped me!"

Demetri grinned a wolfy grin. "Well, _technically_ it wasn't me, but yes, I did. You see at the night of my party, that dolt who let information slide was actually telling the truth. I am part of the 'Black Ice' group; a group that is going to get rid of this 'democracy' in which we have to listen to even the weak nations. The strong will rule. We will have a new ruler," he winked, "me, of course."

Relena's mouth opened to say something but Demetri cut her off.

"I know you must be thinking 'how did I know that your precious Preventor boyfriend was gone for the night?' Well it was quite simple. I have placed moles in the Preventor office that works in our building for months now. They were able to hack into their Preventor system so when Preventor Barton called to say he was leaving you, we were actually the ones who intercepted the call. One of my men were sent to retrieve you. I must admit I told him to be gentle and when I heard he had knocked the air out of you, he was most heavily punished. Then we took you on our underground train- yes, we do have quite the resources- and you ended up here."

Relena gasped. She disliked Demetri but she never dreamed he would pull something like this. He did, after all, work with her for years on peace. "Why? Why would you want a world like that where the strong have all the power and the weak have nothing?"

Demetri tsked lightly. "I once held the same ideals as you, Relena. But I've seen the way the weak thrive off of the strong. I should be asking you why you are still holding on to your beliefs that the weak and strong should be equals. Why Relena? In my world, we would be the rulers, we would have all the power. That's the way it is going to be. I will be the ruler and you will be at my side as my lover."

Relena glared at him in anger as she tried to stand up. She was suddenly overcome with a strong pain in her head and couldn't seem to stand up straight. She fell forward into Demetri's tanned arms.

"Oh by the way, you will be quite disoriented because of the sedation and drugs you have in your system right now." He looked at her apologetically. "Sorry love, but it was entirely necessary. You see, you have much too much fight in you, which is why the handcuffs are an extra precaution."

Relena really was ready to punch him in his perfect face. His blue-gray eyes shined with amusement.

"Now Relena, you should be quite comfortable in this suite I've put you in. Just don't cause any trouble, okay? I would hate to have to stick you in the dungeon."

Relena looked at him. "Dungeon? You have a dungeon here?"

"But of course, which evil villain doesn't? That is what you think of me, right? Of course ours is more of a basement prison area but 'dungeon' will suffice." He grinned at her and she felt like throwing up.

Demetri's blue-gray eyes darkened slightly as he eyed Relena. Relena was suddenly aware of their proximity and the fact that she was still only dressed in her thin, silky nightgown that came to the middle of her thigh. Her hands moved to cover the lacy material of her bodice as best as she could. Although her attire was classy, there was no denying it was sexy too.

Suddenly Demetri grasped the chains that held Relena's hands. He held them tightly in his hand as his arms wrapped around her waist. His blond hair prickled against Relena's neck as his face dipped to kiss her shoulders.

Relena tried to pull the chains from his hands but he was too strong for her. His arms held her in place as she tried to wrestle her shoulder away from the burning tingle of his mouth. Demetri enveloped her small body and pushed her onto the bed. "No… no! Get off of me… Demet- Demetri, no!" she cried out in embarrassment as his hands moved over her thighs.

Abruptly Demetri ceased his attack and froze. He looked at Relena and saw her eyes filled with angry tears. He pulled himself off of her and straighten up to look at her form lying on the bed.

"You have nothing to fear Relena. I'm not going to- how shall I put it- 'force' myself onto you. Although, it wouldn't be difficult seeing as you are my prisoner and can hardly beat me off. In time you will realize that I am correct and you will beg me to take you." He leaned forward to kiss Relena's lips. She turned her face away from him and he ended up kissing her cheek. He laughed. "Until then… unless of course I become bored of waiting and just have you anyway."

With a wink and a smile, he turned and left. Relena hugged one of the pillows and began to cry until a burning pain erupted in her head and she fainted again.

- - - - - -

The ex-gundam pilots were all in a large Preventor truck parked about a mile away from the assumed location of the Black Ice group. They huddled around in the back of the truck, which was filled with computers, tracking devices, weapons, and other necessary materials for their mission.

Duo pulled off the headphones he was wearing. "Okay, so it looks like their hangout is full of people today. I was able to hack into their communication device and listen in on a few calls. We'll need a ton of ammo unless we can throw some smoke bombs and have them all pass out there." Although Duo loved having fun and fooling around, when it came to getting a mission done, he was completely serious.

Trowa and Wufei moved to pack their backpacks with different smoke bombs and stuff.

When they were all done, they jumped out of the truck, dressed in black. It was nighttime so they needed some sort of camouflage.

After walking nearly a mile, Duo suddenly stopped and pointed to a spot on the ground. Trowa and Wufei nodded as they set some explosives into the floor. All of them ran for cover as Quatre detonated the explosives. Exactly where Duo pointed was a large hole leading into a tunnel.

Wufei smirked. "Found it."

* * * * * *

The pilots had been walking for a few miles when they suddenly heard voices.

"Yeah so the boss wants to move out of this hideout soon and declare himself to the world."

"Uh huh. We're almost done with this place anyway. We have more than enough weapons and men here so it won't be long now."

Suddenly the second man crumbled to the floor. The first looked at his fallen body in shock until he felt two arms grab his head in a headlock as cold metal poked him in the back.

"Listen carefully," Trowa said softly, "there is a gun pointed to your back so don't try to make a run for it or scream for help. I want to know what exactly your objectives are and who is your boss."

The man's eyes were wide with fear as he began stumbling through his speech. "We-we don't know everything. We just have to guard this location because of the weapons we've accumulated here. And the boss… well I don't know him."

Trowa tightened his arm around the man's throat. "You don't expect me to believe that, right?"

Duo stepped in front of the man. "Listen buddy, we're all ex-gundam pilots here and to put it frankly, the guy holding you, yeah he's not having a great week. See him and his girlfriend fought and he's really pissed. I'm sure you wouldn't want to make him angrier right now. Why don't you tell us who your boss is, hmm?"

The man's features turned pale white when he heard they were ex-gundam pilots. "I.. I'm telling the truth! The boss- he only lets a choice few know who exactly he is. The others just work with commands from our superiors. Please… please let me go!"

Quatre nodded his head towards Trowa and Trowa swiftly hit the man on the neck with the side of his hand. The man fell to the ground unconscious.

Wufei spoke into his communication device. "Okay. This is Preventor 05. We have secured two prisoners so far. They are approximately at coordinates B-12 and B-10. Requesting additional help."

"Understood 05. We're sending over reinforcements to take care of it," the voice in the radio said. "Oh and by the way, Lady Une told me to pass on this message. It has been confirmed that there was a spy at the main Preventor Headquarters you all work at. He has been captured and is currently under surveillance. That is all."

"Well, well, a mole huh? And in the main Preventor Headquarters building?! I'm sure that had Lady Une going crazy!" Duo chirped lightly.

"Yeah," Trowa agreed absently. For some reason this information gave him a strange feeling. He pulled out his cell phone to call Relena. He groaned slightly.

"What is it, Trowa?" Quatre peered over Trowa's shoulder and saw the cell phone in his hand. "No signal, huh? Well, I guess that's not hard to believe seeing as we're in this underground tunnel. Don't worry, I'm sure you can apologize to Relena once we're done here," he added cheerfully.

Trowa glared at him. "I was not going to… apologize. I did nothing wrong!"

Even Wufei raised his eyebrows at that.

Trowa looked down. "Okay… maybe I was a little wrong."

"Trowa…" Quatre began.

"Oh fine! I was completely wrong!" Trowa angrily spat and took the lead. "Let's go and get this over with!" he snapped.

* * *

Well, well, well, what did you think? Oh Trowa, hurry up and save Relena!!!! And Demetri, keep your hands off! Make sure to review!!!!


	13. The Only Hope

**Author's Note**: Helllloooo everybody! Another chapter, yay! Now, here is where I normally apologize for taking such a long time to update but, frankly, it's not my fault. Yep, that's right. The blame goes to my school work and how it is literally killing me (sleep deprivation argh!) *Shuffles feet* Okay, so the blame might go to me, a little teensy bit as well. But! To make up for it, this chappie is loooong! Anyways, I see that this story gets a lot of hits, but sadly, not a whole lot of reviews. I was hoping that we could change that? Please? Pretty please? **Okay so here's the deal.... it has 69 reviews as of now... let's get it to 90!!!!** Yes, a goal! A mission! Be like Heero and accept the mission! Thanks. End ramble.

Thanks a ton and I have to thank the reviewers who have stayed with this fic thus far! You guys keep me writing :D Remember to review! (Mission!)

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Chapter 13: The Only Hope

"What?!" Lady Une barked into the phone.

The other preventor agents and subordinates around her all flinched. Lady Une was a force to be reckoned with when she was angry and right now… she sounded down right livid.

"What do you_ mean_ she's kidnapped?!… I send Preventor Barton away for a few hours and you couldn't even keep Vice Foreign Minister Peacecraft safe?!…NO! I am assigning you five agents to find her whereabouts. You better hope that she isn't hurt or even I won't be able to hold back Preventor Barton!" Lady Une smashed the innocent phone down in irritation.

Everyone shuddered. Inwardly, they all were counting their blessing for two reasons. One, they were not on the receiving side of Lady Une's rant and two, they would live to see tomorrow. Whoever's fault Relena Peacecraft's abduction was, however, might not be so lucky since the person they would have to answer to would be Preventor Trowa Barton.

Lady Une pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. Was she seriously the only person who wasn't a complete imbecile? She thought so at times like these.

The ex-gundam pilots were already on an important mission and she was busy assisting the mission as much as she could. They did not have the time, resources, or man-power to fool around and make mistakes.

But now that they did have something else to worry about, Lady Une had to think sensibly about the situation. Standard Procedure called for her to not inform anyone else about the situation unless they were directly involved.

But Trowa… he would want to know if something happened to Relena. However, it wouldn't be wise to inform him while he was already on a high-priority mission. He could become rash and the consequences would be disastrous if they failed their current mission.

Sighing deeply and counting to ten like her anger management counselor once suggested, Lady Une turned towards the people in the command station.

"Bailey!" her harsh voice snapped as a man winced and gave an affirmative that he was listening, "I want you to get in touch with Preventor Maxwell. Convey the following message: 'Vice Foreign Minister Relena Peacecraft has been kidnapped. Keep a lookout for information regarding her abduction.'" She was thoughtful for a moment. "Also add, 'Do not, I repeat, do not relay this message to Preventor Barton.'"

Lady Une was sure that if she relayed the message to Duo, he would no doubt tell Trowa, no matter how confidential the information was. Duo was loyal like that. To him, missions took a backseat when it came to his friendships and relationships.

It was hard to tell with the other pilots, though. Most of them were so contingent upon orders, they usually followed them blindly. However, as long as Lady Une had added to not tell Preventor Barton about the information, she was still able to follow the standard procedure. If the message was sent to Duo, it would get to Trowa and the others as well. It would be just as Lady Une wanted it to be. She held back a smirk.

"Yes, ma'am!" the man named Bailey was now in a thorough sweat as he punched some buttons on the computer screen in front of him to connect him to Duo's communication device. He suddenly stopped and sweat beaded on his forehead as he turned towards Lady Une in embarrassment.

She quirked an eyebrow.

"Lady Une… what is the n-new code for the ex-gundam pilots's d-devices?" He stuttered nervously.

Lady Une resisted the urge to throttle the man. "052."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Rolling her eyes, Lady Une felt like she could count to one million and still not feel relaxed enough. She was sure her anger management counselor didn't take 'giving high class orders that could save or destroy the universe' into consideration when suggesting to count slowly to ten to calm down.

- - - - - -

A beep from Duo's communication device prompted him to lightly tap the piece of plastic in his right ear. "Preventor Maxwell here."

"Preventor Maxwell, this is Preventor Headquarters, Agent Bailey number 342 speaking. The following message is sent by Lady Une on high priority: 'Vice Foreign Minister Relena Peacecraft has been kidnapped. Keep a lookout for information regarding her abduction. Do not, I repeat, do not relay this message to Preventor Barton.' That is all."

"Understood." Duo switched the device off. _Relena was kidnapped?!_ What was going on here? And not tell Trowa? Like hell he wouldn't. If something ever happened to Hilde, he would want to know everything. Duo didn't care about following orders like those. He was no robot. When it came down to his friends and the people he cared about, he would do anything and everything to save them.

He turned towards his companions with a grave expression on his face. "Trowa, Relena's been kidnapped."

- - - - - -

Relena woke slowly, her hand automatically grasping her head as it began to thump painfully. "Argh," she groaned as she sat up.

Looking around her at the strange room, everything suddenly came back to her. She had been kidnapped… by Demetri! Her wrists moved and she heard a clank of metal. Right, she was handcuffed to the wall.

A noise in the corner of the room made her snap her head in that direction.

"You sure do sleep a lot." Demetri moved from out of the shadows, a grin across his face.

"Whose fault do you think that is?" Relena snapped back angrily. "You're the one that had me drugged up!"

"Guilty as charged," Demetri smiled wider and put up his hands in mock surrender. "But truthfully, Relena, I wouldn't mind if you slept so much, as long as you let _me_ sleep along with you." His blue-grey eyes moved across her body and Relena crossed her arms around her chest in an effort to cover herself from his roaming eyes.

In a flash he was in front of her, his hands grasped the chains around her wrists and he gave an almighty tug as she fell forward into his arms.

"Get off of me," she snapped as she tried fruitlessly to tear herself from his grip. His hands were tight around her waist as he held the chains.

His face moved to her neck as he breathed in deeply and Relena shivered in disgust. Demetri's mouth danced over her skin as he began to kiss her neck and traveled up to her face. Relena thrashed against him harder when she felt his hands slid up and play with the straps of her nightgown.

But Demetri was stronger and soon pinned her down to the bed. His mouth hungrily tried to latch on Relena's lips but she craned her neck as far away from him as she could, making him bury his face in her hair instead. His hand traveled up her leg. When it reached the hem of her nightgown, Relena lifted her leg and hit him hard where it counted, with her knee.

Swearing loudly and falling to the floor as he caught his breath, Demetri gasped. Relena was breathing hard as well as she quickly fixed her nightgown and tried to run as far away as the handcuffs permitted from him.

But he was on his feet a moment later and grasped her roughly from behind around the waist, pulling her roughly back to slam against his chest. Relena bit back a cry when she felt his hand clench her wrist painfully.

"Do not test me," he spat dangerously from behind her. "I grow tired of this little game of yours, Relena. Everyone loves a woman with spirit, but so help me God, I will break yours if you don't get some sense into that pretty little head of yours soon enough."

Then he spun her around to face him and moved his face close to hers until his warm breath was against her cheek. His eyes were furious as he looked into her angry cerulean blue ones. "Now, unless you want me to kill Preventor Barton, I suggest you begin to show a little gratitude. I am, after all, being quite gracious to you by allowing you to stay in this comfortable room."

Relena's eyes widened at his threat. "You can't kill Trowa," she whispered. But even as she said it, there was uncertainty.

His eyebrows rose. "Oh really? You think I can't? Sorry to crush that little hope of yours but I'm afraid I can and I will. I have more than enough men to take care of him. And you know that, don't you?"

Even as the words left his mouth and Relena tried her hardest to think against them, she knew it was true. With a facility this large and her kidnapping as evidence, it was obvious that Demetri had made quite the organization.

Demetri grasped her chin with his fingers, forcing her to look at him. "If you don't start to change your attitude, I will kill him."

And as he dipped his face to kiss her lips, Relena didn't fight back.

He let go of her and pat her cheek once. "'Atta girl. Now listen, I have to leave here for a while, but I've instructed one of my men to take care of you. You are to meet me in the other base I have."

He released Relena and turned to leave. As an afterthought, he looked back at her. "Don't give any trouble," he muttered dangerously. "Or I'll take care of Barton personally."

Relena suddenly remembered the awful nightmare she had of Trowa getting tortured. She gave a slight nod without looking at Demetri. Satisfied with her response, Demetri walked out of the room, leaving Relena to clench her fists together in frustration.

- - - - - -

Trowa stood unmoving, his eyes vacant as he stared down the dark tunnel at nothing in particular.

"Trowa?" Quatre said nervously as he looked at his frozen friend.

After Duo had told Trowa that Relena had been kidnapped, he had just stopped moving.

Wufei slapped his hand against his forehead. "Maxwell! Look what you did!" he barked.

Duo was frowning. There was no time to waste. Pulling his arm back, Duo swiftly punched Trowa in the face.

That did it.

Trowa touched his nose and gazed at the blood on his hand in astonishment before he turned to Duo. "Thanks."

"Anytime," Duo muttered. "Now, come on. We have to infiltrate this base further. Grab the weapons and get out of here to find Relena. We don't have any time to waste."

With that, the four former pilots raced down the hall towards the area where the weapons were supposedly being held.

- - - - - -

The door creaked and Relena turned tiredly to see who it was.

A young man walked in, his face red when he saw Relena looking at him. He was tall and thin with red hair and bright green eyes. "Sorry, Miss Relena, I didn't wake you, did I?"

Relena didn't say anything.

The young man looked down and gave a soft smile. "Right… Mr. Demetri said you were upset. Anyway, I'm Todd, I'll be taking you to the transport helicopter so if you'll follow me please."

"Where am I going?" she managed to say.

"I'm sorry?" he looked at her.

"I said, where am I going?" she repeated.

He blushed and took a couple of steps towards her. "I'm s-s-sorry, all I know is you're going to the other base Mr. Demetri has. Now, if you don't mind, we really should g-g-get going," he stuttered nervously. "Mr. Demetri won't be happy if you're late."

"Right, of course he won't," Relena snapped angrily.

The boy looked at her expectantly and she rolled her eyes before lifting her hands to show her handcuffs. He flushed and quickly walked forward to unlock her chains.

"Please, Miss Relena. I don't want trouble but I do have this gun, just in case," he said as he looked at her softly.

Deciding not to answer him, Relena strode out of the door with the boy behind her as he guided her through the halls of the base.

Relena tried to get as much information from her surroundings as she could. She remembered Trowa giving her some tips in case she ever got kidnapped, like now.

"_Relena, now what is the first thing you should do if you're ever kidnapped?"_

_Relena smiled at him as she leaned forward on the couch they were sitting on. She pushed him gently down and threw her legs on either side of his body as she sat on his body lightly. Hovering above him, she leaned forwards and kissed him sweetly._

_Trowa kissed her back for a moment before he lifted himself on his elbows to look at the blonde above him. "Relena… what should you do?" he persisted._

"_Oh, Trowa, let's not worry about that! I have you here to protect me!" She giggled and moved her face again to press her lips against his._

_Trowa gave in for a bit before he remembered what they were supposed to be discussing and pulled away, gasping._

"_Relena, really, this is serious. What if you were ever kidnapped? You are the Vice Foreign Minister. It is a possibility. There are certain steps you should take to maximize your chances of escaping or getting help."_

_Seeing that he wasn't going to stop until he got an answer, Relena sat up and sighed. "First, I should survey the area and look for an opening in my enemy's defenses. I don't see the point of this, Trowa! I have you to rescue me," she touched his cheek gently._

_Trowa sighed against the pressure of her hand and gazed at her pleadingly. "I will always rescue you, but this is a precaution. But there is something I want you to know, Relena. Never, ever lose hope. I will find you."_

_The seriousness of his words made Relena smile and she moved closer to wrap her arms around him and kiss his soft lips._

"This way, Miss Relena," Todd said softly as he grasped her arm gently and steered her across a metal bridge in the huge underground tunnel.

Relena grasped the railings of the bridge and looked over the edge at the strange, large canisters that were smoking eerie green vapors. There were dozens of wooden crates as well. Pointing down, she turned to look at Todd. "What is this place?"

Todd scratched his head uncomfortably. "This is the main weapons holding room. Your helicopter is also down there waiting. He grasped her hand and pulled her towards the stairs that lead down to the first level.

- - - - - -

Duo hugged the wall as he turned the mirror in his hand slightly. Catching the reflection of what was in the room with the mirror, he turned to look at his companions. "Yeah, this is it all right. The weapons room and there are enough guys here as well. It won't be as simple as we hoped."

Quatre pulled off his backpack and began to load the guns in the bag with ammo. Wufei had his back turned as he got into contact with Lady Une at headquarters to request backup. Trowa pulled some black, plastic sticks from his bag before handing some to each of them.

Duo looked at him questioningly.

"Just snap them and throw them. They temporarily blind the enemy with light," he murmured softly.

Quatre looked at his friend and put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Trowa. We'll get this done with and find her."

Trowa nodded his head. He felt so lost. Relena was kidnapped and God knows where and it was all his fault. If only he had told her about his mission, perhaps he could have kept her safe. He wasn't sure when exactly she had been kidnapped but there was the nagging thought that it was when he decided to storm out on her.

"Tro-man, we have to get this done with and find the Princess. Are you ready?" Duo gazed at him somberly.

Turning to look at his team, Trowa gave a quick nod.

"Good," Wufei barked as he began to lay out the plan. "Barton and I will rush in about 100 feet towards the crates over there, back-up will be here in five minutes and counting. Winner and Maxwell, you two cover us. As long as we're well-hidden, their shots won't be able to hit us. Of course they will discover us almost immediately but just keep out of the line of fire, alright?"

They all gave a curt nod.

"Let's get this show on the road!" Duo muttered as Trowa and Wufei prepared themselves and rushed in.

- - - - - -

"_Stall, Relena. If they want to take you somewhere else, chances are it is farther away from your home. So stall and try your hardest to avoid being taken anywhere."_

Trowa's words reverberated through Relena's head. And stall she did.

"Please Miss Relena, I swear I didn't touch you! I grabbed your arm, I didn't touch your chest!" Todd pleaded with the woman who had her arms across her chest and her head turned, refusing to look at him with mock anger.

"Not until you apologize! Geez, you think just because I'm a prisoner here you can do whatever you want to me?! Now, apologize, pervert!" She yelled loudly.

A couple of the men who were loading weapons gazed up towards the metal stairs at the pair.

"Why don't ya apologize to the little missy, eh boy?" one of them sneered.

"Don't blame you for touching that, Toddy! Didn't know you were man enough!" another laughed heartily.

Todd looked at them nervously before turning back towards Relena. "Fine! I'm sorry!"

Relena opened one of her eyes to look at him. "You don't mean it!" she whined loudly and plopped herself on the ground to pretend to cry.

The cry caught the attention of everyone around them as they turned to look up at the blonde and the red-haired boy. Todd looked around him quickly.

Relena took the opportunity to crack one eye open. Stalling… check.

"_If they are taking you elsewhere and it's an enemy organization, make a scene. Have all eyes on you. That way, if there is someone there that can save you, they'll know where you are. If there are any moles or agents looking for you, they will hear you." Trowa instructed._

Relena began to wail loudly. "I can't believe you called me fat!" Anything to get eyes on her and if she knew anything, there was nothing like crying and accusing someone of calling a woman fat to make a man sweat.

And sweat Todd did. Oh boy he did. All the eyes in the warehouse room locked onto the two of them.

"Wha-ja-do now boy?" one man's voice yelled.

"Demetri'll kill ya for making her cry!"

"Todd, you idiot! Demetri will fire all of us!"

"Hey babe! Don't listen to him. I like a woman with meat myself!"

Relena stiffened. She had only said that to get everyone's attention. She. Was. Not. Fat.

Todd put up his hands in a pacifying motion as he gazed at all the murderous eyes. "B-b-but I didn't call her fat!"

In any other situation, Relena would be laughing her head off. She was sure Todd was about to have a heart attack or run away screaming his head off.

Suddenly there was the sound of shots being rung as Relena threw her arms over her head in defense and she heard Todd swear loudly. She felt him grab her hand as he pulled them down the stairs towards safety. They were sitting ducks if they stayed on the open stairs.

"We're under attack!" a man yelled as guns were pulled out and a battle ensued.

Relena was pushed to the ground as Todd threw his body over her, his arm tucking her head to his chest.

She looked at him in surprise and he smiled wryly. "Mr. Demetri would be angry if anything happened to you, but I would kill myself if I let anything happen to you," he said gently as he smiled at her.

She gaped at him in shock.

Smiling again he spoke. "And for the record, I don't think you're fat."

- - - - - -

Trowa swore loudly as he pulled his head back against the stack of wooden crates as a couple of shots pierced the thick crates. He peered around the edge cautiously.

There were more than enough enemies and all had guns it seemed. What was worse, there were bombs as well. That part they hadn't known before.

When back-up had arrived, Trowa and the others looked into the room carefully for any openings in which to start their attack. All of the workers seemed to be looking at something, their heads turned away from the entrance. It was the perfect opportunity to attack.

Wufei snapped his arm in a silent order to move as they all sprinted in the room and dove under shelter, behind crates, and began firing immediately.

In less than a minute, all hell broke loose. It seemed like they had severely underestimated the enemy. There were snipers on the top level it seemed as Quatre yelled out to Trowa to duck. Not a second later, a bullet smacked past the area Trowa's body had been a moment ago.

Thankfully, they were all ex-gundam pilots and back-up was exceptional. Out of all of the pilots, Duo had the best long-range aim and was taking advantage of it. The snipers on the top level were shocked and gripped his hands as the guns they had been holding were shot out of their hands.

Quatre was busy rotating between shooting at the enemy and tossing reloaded weapons towards everyone else.

Wufei had managed to get close enough to the enemy to engage in hand to hand combat as he knocked a dozen of them unconscious before a bullet grazed his upper arm and he had to retreat behind a wooden crate. Ripping a piece of his shirt, he made a make-shift knot over the bloody skin and returned to firing at the enemy.

Trowa was the furthest ahead. It seemed more of the enemy was trying to take him out, afraid that he was moving to close. But Trowa was skilled when it came to guns. He rolled into a flip and fired out at the enemy as he moved from one hiding place to a closer one. His emerald green eyes were well-aware of the many snipers who were trying to get him in their aim. Not to mention there was a man who had a grenade in his hand. The idiot was unaware of the blast range it seemed. Trowa cursed. He had to get to that man and take him out before he killed all of them.

Keeping that in mind, Trowa turned around and yelled, "Quatre!" Blue eyes locked onto him. Quatre nodded his head and strode forward to cover Trowa as he ran closer to the enemy force.

_- - - - - - _

Relena felt the pressure of Todd's body disappear from on top of her and she was hoisted to her feet as a warm hand grasped hers and pulled her into a run.

"Todd, wha-"

"-Hurry! We have to get you on the transport helicopter!"

Suddenly, Relena was pushed backwards and she automatically threw her hands over her head as she ducked.

Relena looked at the scene in front of her. Todd was distracted as he tried to find a way around the two battling forces.

"_At the first opportunity to get away, run! Do anything to get away," Trowa murmured urgently to her as he finished telling her what to do in case she was ever kidnapped._

This was her chance. It was her only hope. She was about to run when she heard a familiar voice yell.

There was no way.

_Trowa?!_

Looking across to the other side, Relena saw Trowa with a gun in his hand as he yelled orders out to someone else. He was concentrating on something as he held the gun steadily and shot.

Relena knew if she could get Trowa's attention she would be fine. He was her only hope. If she could just get to him, it would be alright! The only hope. Her entire body shook. Trowa. She needed to get to Trowa. She took a step forward and yelled, "Trowa!!!!"

- - - - - -

"Trowa!!!!"

_That voice…_

Trowa's head snapped up in disbelief at the sound as he looked across the room and saw Relena standing there, her face a mixture of fear and relief.

Her blonde hair was sticking to her face and her body was slightly dirty with the debris of the room. She was shaking as her clear blue cerulean eyes gazed at him.

Without thinking, his body moved on its own accord. He took a step forward into plain view. "Re…lena?"

That was all that the other side needed. The sniper that was trying to get a clear view of Trowa instantly moved his gun to target him. The scene seemed to go in slow motion as he pulled the trigger.

Wufei, Duo, Quatre, and Relena's eyes were frozen on Trowa.

"TROWAAAA!!!!!!!!

* * *

Cliffhanger! Yeah, it's pretty much an amazing cliffhanger. So amazing in fact, that I have to now decide how the rest of the story is going to go. *Walks away grumbling* Review please-- remember the mission! If the mission is completed, another chapter :D Plus, it seriously does not take a lot of time hahaha.

On another note, I was pretty happy with this chapter and I just want to make sure everything was understandable. Can you please tell me how it was? If anyone has any questions, just PM me or send me a review with it.... I always answer. Thanks!


	14. The Return

**Author's Note**: Hello everybody!!!!!! Okay so I know that I said I would update once we got to 90 reviews, but quite frankly, I couldn't wait to get this chapter up once I finished editing it completely and we got soooo close to the goal! So a HUGE thank you to those you reviewed.... this ultra long chapter is for you! :D

Here's the deal: I am finally done with school work for a little while and I just ask that you show your support by reviewing once you're done reading. It literally takes a minute and I appreciate it so much. Please please please please!

NOTE: Believe me, lots of you have been waiting for this chapter. ;-) Here ya go, enjoy! Check out the question I have for all of you at the end.

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* * *

**Chapter 14: The Return**

It's funny how things can change so quickly. It's like a game. One minute you're sure you've won, and the next you've lost completely.

But there's nothing funny about losing a life.

Like they might lose today.

- - - - - -

A group of people were crowded in the waiting room adjacent to the emergency room and critical care unit at the local hospital.

A young, hawkish woman stood pacing at a rapid rate as she continued to switch from barking orders at doctors and nurses to yelling into her small cell phone.

"No! I said I wanted twenty people assigned to look over the base! Bring all evidence back to headquarters! And for God's sake, don't screw this up!" She slammed the phone shut. "You there!" she roared at a small, balding doctor as he jumped in the air, throwing his papers around in the process.

"Y-y-y-yes, Lady Une?" he stuttered. He had seen (and heard) the woman's wrath earlier on in the day as she had a quick word with (yelled at) the director of the hospital… and it wasn't pretty.

"What the hell is taking so long with the update on their health situation?" Her harsh voice barked at the quivering man.

"I-I can check on them, ma'am," he said in a nervous voice.

She glared at him for a moment. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go check!"

"Y-yes! Of course!" He stuttered as he ran out of the room.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Lady Une once again contemplated why everyone in the vicinity, if not the world, seemed to be incompetent idiots. Taking a deep breathe, she turned to survey the room.

Doctors in white coats and scrubs frantically ran through the doors that read "Emergency Room" above them. Nurses were scrambling around, having forms filled out by various people and helping to treat those who didn't have intense wounds. Preventor agents were crowded around, some relaying important information on their cell phones while others typed away on their laptops and fought out the reprimanding nurses who insisted they take their "gadgets" outside.

Her eyes stopped at the sight of a group of her agents. This group was the only group that was sitting silently and still together.

The ex-gundam pilots and their friends.

Lady Une wasn't known to be a very social person. She also wasn't known to be soft or emotional, yet at this moment, she wanted to stay with this group, this group of fallen soldiers that desperately needed to know that their loved ones would be alright.

She_ wanted_ to stay because truthfully, she was closer to this group of people than to any others.

But she was the Head of the Preventor agency. She could not afford to wait and lose time. Not when the enemy who caused this entire commotion was still on the move.

She sighed heavily and walked briskly towards the group. "I have to head back to headquarters. Inform me immediately of any updates on their situations."

The ex-pilots nodded their heads, some slowly and others just kept their heads bowed in confirmation.

Taking that as an affirmative, Lady Une turned on her heel and began to walk away.

"I'm… sorry," she murmured softly as she pushed through the doors.

- - - - - -

The world around him felt alien-like. He couldn't believe it. He didn't _want _to believe it.

But the truth sat there like a crushing weight on his chest.

It was his fault. His mistake. His blotched up accident. Whatever you wanted to call it. The blame rested with him.

Trowa Barton dropped his head into his clammy, cold hands.

- - - - - -

_Without thinking, his body moved on its own accord. He took a step forward into plain view. "Re…lena?"_

_That was all that the other side needed. The sniper that was trying to get a clear view of Trowa instantly moved his gun to target him. The scene seemed to go in slow motion as he pulled the trigger._

_Wufei, Duo, Quatre, and Relena's eyes were frozen on Trowa._

"_TROWAAAA!!!!!!!!_

_As the bullet neared Trowa, two things happened._

_First, Quatre flung himself in front of his best friend, his arms sprayed out as his bright blue eyes gazed fiercely at the oncoming bullet. As the bullet lodged itself into the blonde haired man's chest, his eyes widened in pain before scrunching shut as he lost consciousness and fell backwards._

"_QUATRE!!!!!! QUATRE NO! STAY AWAKE! QUATRE!" Trowa's voice desperately yelled at his now still best friend and comrade as Duo and Wufei were frozen in shock over the scene that just transpired._

_Second, one of the men part of the Black Ice group that Trowa had been watching threw the grenade in his hand towards the group._

_Using his amazing speed, Wufei ran up and kicked the grenade with a swift kick, sending it into a stack of wooden boxes._

_The group watched in horror as the grenade exploded, causing a chain reaction with the surrounding crates that must have been holding gun powder and explosive materials in them._

_Then all hell broke loose._

_The entire building shook with the explosion as the ceiling and walls began to crumble._

_People were screaming and yelling as the building began to break apart._

_Duo grasped Quatre's body and flung them both to the ground as he began to crawl towards the exit._

_Wufei ducked his head as did many of the other people, both Preventors and Black Ice agents, as they moved towards shelter. "Trowa! Come on!" he yelled before a piece of the ceiling fell in front of them, spewing dust and rubble all around them and blocking their view from each other._

_Duo turned his head to see Trowa limping in the other direction, away from the exit and the rest of them. "Trowa! Come back here! TROWA!" _

_Trowa's eyes frantically searched the room. "Relena! Where are you?!" He yelled over the commotion._

_Where was she? She was standing just across the room before the explosion and now she was no where to be seen._

_He could feel his heart beating in his ears, the adrenaline pumping through his body as he stood to run where he had last seen Relena._

_A burning sensation in his right leg made him winch in pain as he fell to the floor again and tried to pull himself up._

_Just as he began to limp across the room, his teeth biting down on his lip in pain, a hand shot out and grasped his shoulder._

_Trowa hissed in pain and turned to glare at the unfamiliar face. "What… do you… want?! I'm… busy!" he rasped as he struggled to control the pain that seemed to be spreading across his body._

"_My name is Todd, and I was watching over Miss Relena before… umm… well anyway, I was watching over her. I know you're looking for her, aren't you? You must be Preventor Barton," the man said, his face slightly ashen from the debris._

_Trowa glared at the man in confusion. "How do you know… who I am? And what have you done with Relena?!"_

"_I'm part of Black Ice, we were briefed on you… but that's not important right now! You have to listen to me! Relena… she's in here somewhere! You need to call your people to help search for her because the roof fell out… Listen to me! We don't have time to fight right now! You, you can't look for her with your injuries. Call for help… and hurry!" the man said with a slightly stronger voice. _

_Trowa gulped in air again. His breathing was harsh and uneven as his eyes went wild with the pain he felt all over body. But… Relena… he had to find her!_

_The image of the honey blonde's face as she gazed at him with a mixture of fear but more of relief, filled his head. Her eyes… those cerulean blue eyes locked onto him and in that moment… in that moment Trowa's body moved towards her, without thinking. She needed him. She needed his help. She needed him._

_Hundreds of images of her filled his mind. Relena laughing at his groggy movements in the morning. Relena glaring at him for taking the last piece of cake. Relena closing her eyes as she leans forward to press her lips against his cheek. Relena smiling at him… _

_Relena._

"_No! I have to… find her!" Trowa gasped as a shot of pain traveled up his body. He pushed past the other man and stumbled forward._

"_Relena! Relena, answer me! Where are you?!" Trowa yelled over the commotion. People were running all around, looking for shelter._

_By now, the medics from the Preventor headquarters, who had been stationed outside the Black Ice base in case of an emergency, had arrived and were treating and transporting people to the nearby hospital. _

_Trowa limped through the mess, pushing people and rubble out of his way as he went. _

_Suddenly, his leg gave out and he stumbled until a hand grasped his arm and steadied him. _

_Wufei was looking at him urgently. "Barton! What the hell do you think you're doing?! Your leg is bleeding!" he shouted at him._

_Trowa tried to push past the Chinese man. "I have to find her!"_

_Wufei grabbed him by his shoulders and heaved him back. "We have search squads on the way. It's too dangerous!"_

_But as Wufei tried to pull Trowa away, he found the tall man resisting and yanking back towards the smoky path in front of them._

"_Barton! Come on! You're helping no one right now!" He shouted at Trowa._

_But Wufei froze when he saw Trowa turn towards him. His emerald green eyes were wide open and frantic, his face turned to look all around him, his face pale. He seriously looked like a crazed man._

_Shaking his head at their current situation and biting back his pride, Wufei draped Trowa's arm around his shoulders for support and the pair slowly began to move in the direction Trowa believed Relena to be at._

"_Relena!!" Trowa yelled in a raspy voice, exhaustion catching up to him._

_After a few more minutes of futile searching, Wufei had just about decided to steer Trowa away from the blast sight and have some medics patch up his wounds when they saw a sight that made them freeze._

_Half buried under a piece of the ceiling was a mess of blonde hair._

_Bloody blonde hair._

"_RELENA!!!!!"_

- - - - - -

And here he sat now, his leg tied up, his forehead wrapped with a bandage. His wounds had been nominal, not that he cared anyway. It wasn't as if he would even feel them if they were more serious, not with the current emptiness he felt inside.

Quatre was still in the emergency room, being operated on.

Relena had been moved to rest in the critical care unit. After the doctors had pumped more blood into her system during surgery, she had fallen into a coma.

All that had been nearly 14 hours ago.

14 hours of Relena being in a coma.

14 hours of Quatre in surgery.

Trowa couldn't feel anything. The dread that had filled his body as he helped to extract Relena's body from under the large piece of ceiling when they had found her had since vanished. Now he couldn't seem to feel anything.

Anything except blame. Blame on himself.

If only he hadn't fought with Relena before he left on the mission. If only he had told her about the mission!

Then she wouldn't have been kidnapped by the Black Ice group and been at the base. Then he wouldn't have been stupid and let a distraction take over his body as he stepped towards her in the mist of bullets raining around them.

Then… then his _best friend _wouldn't have had to jump in front of him. Then Quatre wouldn't be in surgery, his life hanging by a thread.

Trowa buried his head in his hands.

Along with Trowa sat a somber-looking Duo, a vast contrast from the usual happy-go-lucky attitude he emitted. Hilde was currently in Relena's room. The dark-haired petite woman had rushed to the hospital after she had gotten an urgent call from Duo. After running in a kissing an exhausted Duo firmly on the lips and making sure he was alright, Hilde immediately went to check on her best friend.

When Trowa didn't answer about if he wanted to give his supposed sister, Catherine, a call, Wufei had grabbed the unresponsive man's cell phone and dialed the number for him.

A distressed Catherine ran through the hospital doors a few hours later, still dressed in her performing leotard from the circus act she was in.

She immediately pounced on Trowa, giving him a fierce hug as tears began to fall from her eyes. "You idiot, thank goodness you're alright! Thank goodness, Trowa!" she sobbed into his chest.

Dorothy had arrived with Hilde and had to be restrained by the hospital personnel. When she refused to wait in the waiting room (and with a little help from Lady Une,) the doctors finally allowed the fiery, stubborn woman to stay by Quatre's side.

Wufei was leaning against the wall, his arms across his chest as his eyes were closed in thought.

Both Duo and Wufei had been treated for their minor injuries. Duo had a sprained arm while Wufei hadn't any serious injuries, only cuts on his face and arms.

A tall, platinum blonde haired man was pacing across the room, his face set in what seemed to be a permanent scowl. Milliardo Peacecraft. Relena's older brother and only remaining true family member.

His wife, Noin, had since stopped trying to calm him down. Instead, she now looked up into his face every once in a while, her own eyes tearing with anxiously over Relena's well-being, and wonder briefly if perhaps the worry lines on his forehead would ever vanish.

Sally Po had informed both Milliardo and Noin about what had happened and she had arrived with the pair. She was sitting in the seat next to where Wufei standing against the wall, her eyes traveling to look over him for a few moments before she would turn to look back at the floor in shock. Her face had been stark white and pale when she first came into the hospital. If it had been any other situation, the others would have commented on how she had hugged Wufei tightly when she first came in, but with the current circumstances, no one bothered to say anything.

Duo grasped Trowa's arm and pulled him up into a standing position. "Come on, Tro-man. Let's go visit the princess again."

Trowa nodded his head dully and let Duo lead him away towards Relena's room.

That was how they had spent the past 14 hours. They would wait in silence in the waiting room, hoping for any news (good news) on Quatre's condition and switch to sitting by Relena's bedside, hoping she would wake up soon.

- - - - - -

Duo gently turned the doorknob and walked into Relena's room. The curtains were pulled, allowing some light into the otherwise dark room. The morning air whipped in from the open window.

Hilde looked up at the sound of a door opening and turned to see Duo and Trowa walking in. Getting out of the single chair by Relena's bedside, she walked towards Trowa and hugged him tightly before grasping Duo's hand and pulling him out of the room.

Trowa sighed deeply and sunk into the chair. Relena looked peaceful in her unconscious state. Trowa hated the way her skin looked so pale, how her hair was stringy and the remnants of dried blood stuck to it. He hated how she looked so fragile, broken. Hated the fact that he hadn't seen the color of her eyes or heard the sound of her voice in hours . She looked like she was dead.

His head bowed. Large, warm hands grasped the small, chalky white one on the bed. "Relena…" his voice sounded hoarse from lack of use. He cleared his throat. It ached from inhaling all of the debris and dust back at the Black Ice base.

He began again. "Relena, I… I need you. Please… please, please… please… wake up…" he mumbled as his shoulders shook and his head fell onto the bed by the girl's still body. "I'm so… sorry, Relena."

The door opened and Trowa straightened up, his head snapping to look at the person.

"Trowa," Catherine's soft voice carried into the room, "there's been an update on Quatre's condition. The surgery seems to have taken a turn for the best."

Trowa nodded and turned back to look at Relena's serene face, his hands holding her hand firmly.

Cathy gently touched his shoulder and his head fell forward in angst. "Trowa… go speak to Dorothy. She needs you right now. I'll watch over Relena."

Lifting his head, he leaned forward and kissed Relena's lips. Then he straightened up briskly and turned to leave.

"Trowa," Cathy muttered softly. She walked over to her brother and pulled him into a hug, his own arms automatically hugging his sister back. "She'll wake up, Trowa. Don't you worry."

"What if she doesn't?" Trowa questioned in a childish voice.

Cathy's arms tightened around him. "She will," she said firmly. Suddenly, Cathy looked at him hesitantly, like she wanted to tell him something.

He looked at her expectantly. When she turned to look into his face, he quirked an eyebrow, silently telling her to go on with whatever she wanted to say.

Sighing deeply, Cathy decided to just come out and say it. "Trowa… I can't help but be selfish," she admitted as her voice broke and she buried her head into his chest and clenched his shirt tightly in her hands. "But I'm glad… I'm so thankful that you're alright," she whispered.

Trowa held his sister as she sobbed into his shirt.

- - - - - -

All of his muscles ached from exhaustion and lack of sleep as Trowa stiffly strode back into the waiting room.

Milliardo stopped pacing for a moment and looked over at Trowa with his unspoken question. _Is she awake_?

Trowa turned his head from one side to the other and Milliardo resumed his prior pacing.

The doors from the emergency room opened and a haggard-looking Dorothy slowly walked through. Her makeup had long since been smeared from her tears, her hair knotty and messy. "He's out of surgery," she announced in a raw, rough voice. It was obvious that she had been crying.

The atmosphere changed slightly as a sigh of relief ran through them.

"But… he's in a coma now," she added dejectedly.

Her movements were slow as her limbs were cramped from standing by Quatre's side for so long.

Moving forward into the room, Dorothy glanced around the room before her eyes locked on Trowa's face. A determined and angry look crossed her face as she swiftly walked over to him. Trowa stood from his chair and gazed at the woman, a pain piercing his heart at the look he received from her.

Fire blazed in her eyes. There was a loud crack as Dorothy slapped Trowa across his face. He kept his eyes down.

Then suddenly Dorothy's hands clenched the front of his shirt and she buried her face into his chest.

Trowa's strong arms wrapped around her body and held her tightly as she shook with sobs. His face twisted in what only could be described as pain as his head fell slightly.

"Oh, Trowa! What's going …to happen to him? I-I-Is … he going to be alright?" Dorothy hiccupped, her voice muffled by Trowa's chest.

"I… don't know," he answered truthfully.

"I heard he was… h-hurt while protecting you. I-I-I want you to know something," she mumbled.

She pulled away from him and looked at him with a tear-streaked face. Her expression was set with resolve. "I want you to know that… that I don't blame you. You would have done the same for him. But… if something happens to Quatre, I'm not going to know what to do with myself." Her voice cracked at the end and Trowa grabbed her and held her tightly.

"I know, Dorothy. Me either. Me either."

- - - - - -

Relena was in a daze. She couldn't understand why she didn't have enough energy to pull herself out of this dark hole.

There was nothingness and she desperately wanted to get out.

It was as if she was standing in a pitch black room. The darkness was as if she had her eyes closed. Yet there was no way to open her eyes.

She heard the occasional voices of her friends. Heard Hilde sobbing over her. Heard Milliardo pleading with her.

When she heard Trowa's voice calling out for her gently, she tried as hard as she could to follow it, to pull herself out of the black hole but was too tired and lost her grasp of reality.

Colors seemed to mix from all around. Emerald green… Prussian.

Then all went black again and she struggled to escape the eternal black.

- - - - - -

A lone figure silently strode through the deserted hallways of the hospital's critical care units. A leather Preventor jacket adorned his lean torso as he looked around him before turning the doorknob.

Heero walked into the dark room. The buzz and beeping from the machines was the only sound besides his smooth stride towards the bed. He looked down at the beautiful blond, her face peaceful and serene. Her lips were pulled a fraction lower into a tiny frown.

Heero sank into the chair besides Relena's bed. All day different people had been occupying the chair. Heero had watched from the hallway.

There was Sally, Wufei, and Trowa first watching over the monitors and assessing the situation. Soon Catherine came in and wept over the honey blonde.

Later Hilde sat and spoke to her best friend quietly while Duo held onto Hilde's shaking hand.

Milliardo and Noin made frequent visits together, bringing air filled with tension over the current situation.

Dorothy of course was occupied by Quatre's side but had stopped in to see Relena for a few minutes before rushing back to Quatre's monitor.

Heero had seen Trowa come in numerous times throughout the day, his eyes pained while he tried to keep the rest of his face in its blank expression. At first Heero wondered why Trowa seemed to be coming into Relena's room so often until he saw Trowa lean over Relena and gently touch his lips to hers.

Of course, they must be in a relationship.

Finally, there was a change in Quatre's condition and everyone quickly went to find out what was going on. Heero slid into Relena's room after Trowa and Catherine had left.

"Relena," he spoke in his quiet, deep voice. "Look at the trouble you get into when I'm gone," he murmured softly, a slight sad twitch to his lips.

The monitors continued to beep and buzz, the noise distracting and disturbing to the young man.

"Relena… it's time to come back. Come back to us. Come back… to me, Relena." His hand rose and his fingers gently traced down her cheek.

- - - - - -

Relena heard a voice far away and couldn't believe it.

_Heero?_

It was Heero's voice. Soft and husky. It was Heero!

She struggled harder to break out of the darkness. It was him! Heero! It had been nearly five years but it was him.

"… _Come back… to me, Relena." _

The silky sound of his voice made her heart quake. How long had she waited to hear that voice again? How long had she hoped that she would hear him say her name once more?

The blackness was threatening to drown her again but she fought back harder.

She needed to see him. Needed to know that he was here.

"… _Come back… to me, Relena." _

This time she used the blackness that surrounded her. She pushed past it frantically with her arms as if it was solid. Running faster, Relena continued to move the darkness around her with her hands.

Heero. Heero... it's really him!!!!

She needed to see him.

Heero. Wait, Heero!

Finally, she pushed past a piece of the darkness to be met with a blinding white light. She lifted her arm to shield her eyes as she took a couple of steps forward.

Suddenly, she resurfaced. She blinked and allowed her eyes to grow accustomed to the dim room.

"Heero?" Her voice reverberated through the room.

No one was there.

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WELL?! How was the return?! Let me know! PLEASE review :D

Question: So here's my question to you all. I was wondering if any of you have a song that maybe immediately comes to mind when thinking of Heero and Relena in the ending scenes of this chapter. I know I was listening to my own soundtrack of what I feel fits but I was just curious if you guys do that too where you link songs to certain scenes. Can't wait to hear some! It doesn't have to fit both with tune and lyrics but maybe the tune is sad or perhaps the lyrics can show their relationship at that point. You get it lol.


	15. The Old Team

**Author's Note**: Well, well, another update, everyone! And you know what, it is all because of you guys! Thank you so much for reviewing, favorite-ing, and story alert-ing this fic! I really appreciate the support and all the comments. But I still gotta ask, if you read it, review it, even with anonymous review. If you favorite it or something, please just make every effort to leave a quick review. There are a bunch of hits yet not a whole lot of reviews! We are at 100 reviews now, I would love to see about **110-120 reviews** if we can!

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**Chapter 15: The Old Team **

Three months had passed since Relena Peacecraft woke.

Everything had almost gone completely back to normal for the ex-pilots and their family and friends.

Quatre had awoken from his coma about two weeks after Relena and thankfully, was to make a full recovery.

And somehow, even with everything that they had just went through, life slowly was returning to normal.

- - - - - -

"No, Dorothy! I am quite full, thank you!" Quatre's soft voice pleaded with Dorothy as she moved a spoonful of soup towards his protesting mouth.

Glaring at him, Dorothy crossed her arms in anger as she let the spoon fall with a clang back into the hospital tray. "Listen Quatre, you heard what the doctors said, thanks to your comatose state earlier, you lost a lot of nourishment. You have to eat now to gain your strength back!"

He gave her a weak smile and she sighed and dropped her head forward, her long platinum hair covering her eyes from him. He raised an eyebrow in question. "Dorothy…?"

"-It's just that… I almost… almost lost you, Quatre. I'm not sure what I would have…" her whisper suddenly broke off and she took in a gulp of air.

Quatre's eyes softened and he winced slightly as he reached towards her hand. She gazed up at him with watery eyes as his fingers slowly closed around her hand. "I would never leave you," he said softly, still smiling at her.

Dorothy looked at him as if he were crazy. She wasn't sure if she wanted to scream out of frustration or cry at the sweet, but naïve, words that came from his mouth. She tore her hand out of his as she jumped to her feet "I know that you and the other ex-gundam pilots are disillusioned but Quatre, you can't beat death! You survived the war for a reason! You can't just keep doing impulsive things, like… well, like throwing yourself in front of a bullet!"

His blond head shook slightly as he gazed at her. "Dorothy, I can't think like that. We all can't. Just because the war is over doesn't mean that the world is at peace. If anything, we all should be the ones who know how hard we have to work to attain peace."

Dorothy let out a bitter laugh. "Oh so we all have to continue doing all the fighting? Why can't we be allowed to have happiness like everyone else? Why must we keep putting our lives on the line?"

"Because we know that it is worth it," he answered simply.

She gaped at him for a moment before she sighed deeply. "You are much too kind-hearted for your own good, you know that?"

His warm chuckle made her smile but as it turned to a raspy cough, Dorothy's eyebrows furrowed in remembrance of what they had just gone through. What he had just gone through.

As Quatre recovered from his coughing spell, he gave her another weak smile and she sat on the edge of his hospital bed to wipe the side of his mouth tenderly with a napkin.

"I love you, Dorothy," he said with the beautiful smile that Dorothy loved. She simply buried her face into the crook of his neck and put her arms around his waist. His arms, though weak, wound around her body as he gave her a chaste kiss on her head before leaning his cheek on it.

The door creaked open and Relena stuck her head in. "Knock, knock! Hope we weren't disturbing anything!" she said with a bright smile on her face as Trowa opened the door for her.

Dorothy pulled herself out of Quatre's embrace. "Of course not." She turned towards Quatre. "I'll take your tray down to the cafeteria. While I'm there, I definitely need to talk to the chefs about this food. If a person isn't sick before coming to the hospital, they will be after eating a bite of this!"

Quatre laughed. "Don't scare them too much!"

Relena quickly hugged Dorothy with her arm that wasn't in the temporary sling and moved to put the bouquet of flowers she brought in the vase on the nightstand.

"He's tired. Look after him," Dorothy murmured to Trowa as she hugged him and he gave her a slight nod as she walked out of the door.

"It's wonderful to see you, Miss Relena. And of course, you as well, Trowa. How are you two feeling?" Quatre asked.

Trowa sighed and dropped himself into the chair by Quatre's bedside while Relena sat on the edge of the bed by Quatre's side. "You're the one who got shot and you're asking how we're doing? Unbelievable," Trowa muttered under his breath.

That made Quatre grin.

"We're fine, Quatre. How are you doing today?" Relena smiled, her blue eyes gazing at the blond haired man in bed.

"A little tired, but overall, I'm definitely feeling better. The pain in my shoulder is not so bad today and the doctors believe that I might be released soon, which is great because Lady Une has another mission for us. Although, Dorothy doesn't like the idea of me going on another one any time soon," he finished guiltily.

Relena sighed deeply and gazed at Trowa as she spoke. "Yes well, I suppose she wouldn't because of what happened last time. I'm apprehensive as well."

Trowa's emerald eyes fixed on the honey blonde's face as he grasped her hand. "What must be done, must be done."

"That's what I told Dorothy!" he continued to ramble on, completely oblivious to the moment between Trowa and Relena.

After Relena had awoken from her coma, Trowa had been by her side constantly to help and protect her. Her injuries had healed for the most part and now she would soon be able to take off the temporary sling for her left arm.

Relena knew Trowa felt horrible for the entire episode that had occurred. Many nights, she would awake to find him sitting on edge of the bed they shared, his head in his hands. He blamed himself and only Relena could try to convince him that what had happened was beyond his control. Still, he couldn't let go of the guilt of having his girlfriend and his best friend injured mainly over him.

Perhaps this was way Relena feared the mission briefing that was to occur later that week for Trowa and the other ex-gundam pilots, save Quatre, who would have heal first and then join the mission. Relena was afraid that Trowa would do something rash in an attempt to make sure that no one else was hurt, indirectly because of him. But knowing that Trowa could have been hurt far worse than Quatre had been had Quatre not thrown himself in the way, only made Relena's blood freeze.

She could have lost Trowa while he was on that mission. And had she not been there, she wouldn't even have known how close she had been to losing him. She wasn't sure if she could simply say goodbye and watch him go on another one so soon.

"…But I am very happy to hear that you are recovering well, Miss Relena. Dorothy mentioned how scary it had been when you were still in a coma," Quatre's words brought Relena out of her reverie.

She could see Trowa stiffen slightly and she squeezed his hand in hers. "The important thing is that I'm fine now and yes, almost completely one-hundred percent better!" she said, reassuring Trowa more than answering Quatre.

Quatre smiled again. "As I will be soon, as well!" He turned towards Trowa. "And you, Trowa? How are you doing? Please thank Cathy again for bringing me a change of clothes. Dorothy wouldn't leave my side until the hospital staff threw her out!"

Relena saw Trowa give a small smile. "I'm fine. I'm only concerned about Relena and my best friend getting better now."

The two began to converse and Relena gazed at Trowa as he spoke. She really couldn't get over the fact that he was alright when things could have severely been different. _Thank goodness_, was the only thought she could have. Thank goodness that they were together again; thank goodness that they were safe for the time being; thank goodness that she had a chance to tell him how sorry she was for the argument they had before he left on his mission and she was abducted.

_She awoke to a dim room and blinked, allowing her eyes to grow accustomed to the darkness._

"_Heero?" she rasped as she looked around the clearly empty room. There was no one there yet Relena swore that while she was in a coma she had heard him. Heard him pleading with her, asking for her to return._

_The doorknob twisted and Relena's head snapped quickly towards it. Heero! She thought._

_A head of brownish, auburn hair poked in. "T-Trowa!" Relena's voice croaked from lack of use. _

_In a flash he was by her side, leaning over her as he hungrily kissed her lips._

_Relena sighed into the kiss. It had been so long since she had felt the pressure of his soft lips against hers. _

_Breaking apart, Trowa tenderly pressed his lips against her forehead and Relena shut her eyes and smiled. He took a seat on the side of her bed and grasped both of her hands in his. "Thank goodness, Relena! Thank… thank goodness," he whispered as he dropped his head forward into her lap._

_Relena couldn't help but smile as she gently played with his hair._

_Lifting his head to look at her, Trowa cupped her face between his large, warm hands and Relena sighed, closing her eyes. "When did you wake up?" he murmured softly to her, his fingers caressing her cheek._

"_Just now. I…" Relena broke off. Should she tell him she heard Heero's voice and resurfaced? _

"_Yes?" Trowa asked softly as he gazed at her with such intensity, Relena couldn't form any more coherent thoughts. He leaned forward again and pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes, her face still held between his palms. "Thank goodness," he murmured once again._

"_It's nothing," Relena found herself saying as she dismissed the thought of the dark-haired, Prussian eyed man as a figment of her imagination._

Relena felt Trowa's fingers squeeze her hand and she was again pulled out of her daydream as she met his beautiful emerald eyes. "Shall we?" he asked.

Nodding, Relena stood as Trowa placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Feel better. The mission won't be the same without you, Quatre, but I don't want you to be in any hurry to join," he said seriously to his friend.

"Don't worry! There's no way Dorothy will let me leave until all of my scars have disappeared!" Quatre laughed before he became more serious and gave a soft smile. "We do what we must; it's as you said. And for the record, Trowa, I would do it again for you, my friend."

Trowa shook his head slightly as he gave a wry smile. "Sometimes I think we're all crazy fools."

"That's because you all are," Relena piped in as she gave Quatre a quick peck on the cheek and dragged Trowa out with her.

- - - - - -

Later that week, Trowa, Duo, and Wufei found themselves filing into Lady Une's office for the mission briefing. A slight chill went across them as they recalled the last mission briefing they received and how the mission itself went.

As the three men walked in, they were surprised to see that they weren't alone. In front of Lady Une's desk stood Relena's brother, Milliardo, and his wife, Noin. The two turned to look at the newcomers.

Noin gave them a smile as Milliardo nodded his head towards them.

"Nice to see ya again, Milliardo! And the Mrs., of course!" Duo grinned.

Lady Une sat at her desk as she turned to look up into the faces of the ex-pilots. "This mission has to do with the prior failed mission dealing with the disassembly of the organization, Black Ice. We have yet to find out their goals but Relena Peacecraft, as you all know, has filled us in with the information about who their leader is. Demetri, who used to work alongside Miss Peacecraft, is the mastermind."

Trowa and Milliardo's fists clenched. It was because of that bastard that she was hurt at all.

"Additionally, I have some vital information to tell you. As you all remember, I sent Agent Heero Yuy on a special mission years ago. That mission had to do with gathering information on Black Ice while it was in its early years. Due to the serious nature of the threat of Black Ice, I have reassigned Preventor Heero Yuy back here to work with us," Lady Une said.

The ex-pilots looked shocked.

"No way! It's about time ol' Heero came back! Finally, the old team back together again!" Duo exclaimed excitedly.

Wufei scoffed. "As if we needed Yuy's help on this."

Milliardo's fists clenched harder as Noin lay a hand on his shoulder meant to calm and comfort him. "Yuy's here?" he spat.

Trowa only had one thought run through his mind… _Relena_.

"Settle down!" Lady Une barked. "Yuy's on the mission, end of story. We have information that says Black Ice is moving fast. They plan to disrupt the International Committee Federation's meeting and will most likely try to usurp power then. All of you will be sent there along with a team of preventors to oversee that this does not occur and will try to disband the organization. Understood?"

The ex-pilots all answered in unison. "Understood. Mission accepted."

"Very well. You will leave immediately," she said as she stamped the papers in front of her. "Relena Peacecraft will, of course, need a bodyguard this time around since we know the group holds an interest for her. Preventor Heero Yuy will be the assigned bodyguard."

"No!" Trowa yelled out before realizing what he had said.

Lady Une frowned and sighed. "All of you are dismissed. Preventor Barton, a moment please."

Wufei, Duo, Noin, and Milliardo all filed out.

Trowa waited until he heard the door shut behind him before he strode towards the desk. "Commander, what is the meaning of this? I am Relena's bodyguard! Why can't I go with her?"

"Heero is and always has been Relena's assigned bodyguard. When he left, his position was the same. You were merely filling in as a temporary. You agreed to that at the time. Do you not remember?" Lady Une said firmly as she lifted a paper towards him.

Trowa grasped the document from her, his emerald eyes skimming over it quickly. It was the contract he had made so many years ago, agreeing to fill in as Relena's temporary bodyguard while Heero was away on his mission. Heero had refused to give the position over and only agreed to the mission knowing that if he ever returned, he would still be Relena's bodyguard.

"Yes, but… why can't I… or someone else… anyone besides Yuy?" Trowa asked beseechingly. He knew Heero was one of the best but he couldn't help but feel like he might lose Relena to him… again. And he just couldn't. Not when he had almost lost her before.

"Let's face the facts, Barton. Thanks to the stunt both Relena and yourself pulled during the last mission, Quatre is seriously injured, which rules him out. Wufei refuses to watch over her when he could be going to fight against the enemy, which rules him out. Duo has the best aim so we need him directly in the fight, which rules him out. Milliardo and Noin cannot because they are family, and it would be a conflict of interest. And due to your attachment to Relena and the way things played out before with both of your emotions getting in the way, you are not permitted to be together during this mission. There is too much at stake. Silly mistakes happen when you are attached beyond a professional setting. Heero Yuy is the best available bodyguard so he will look after Relena," Lady Une said with finality in her tone.

"But Commander…" Trowa began, almost begging for her to understand.

"I know, Trowa. I'm sorry, I know this puts both you and Relena in an awkward situation but it can't be helped. Now I hate to do this, but you've left me with no choice. If you cannot obey this order, we will have to send you to Mars for the next mission with the time of return pending. Understood?" Lady Une said firmly.

Trowa looked at her pleadingly for a moment and then his head fell forward. His voice was impassive. "Understood. Mission… accepted."

He turned to leave the room and paused at the door. Without turning around, he addressed Lady Une. "Permission to speak?"

Lady Une looked at his back quizzically. "Permission granted."

Trowa's face turned a fraction of an inch. She could now see the bitter smirk on his face. "It's almost funny in a way."

"What's almost funny?" she frowned.

"Everyone is always telling me to show my feelings and be more human, yet the moment I do, I am punished for it. How ironic. It's almost funny," Trowa said, his voice hard.

The door slammed shut behind him.

Lady Une sighed deeply and let her head fall back against the leather chair. She slowly lifted her head to stare at the picture on her desk of Treize Khushrenada. "Mr. Treize, you once told me giving orders wasn't easy. But why does it have to be _this_ hard?"

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Heero's back on the mission! What will happen when Relena and him finally meet again? Reunion next chapter so make sure to review! Also, the songs that people thought of for last chapter were:

-songs by Lifehouse, specifically, "Everything"

-Goo Goo Dolls- "Iris"

-The Cranberries- "Electric Blue Eyes"

Thank you all for the answers! I was actually very excited that so many of you picked "Everything" by Lifehouse because I thought of it as well! Here's a few more of my own picks: Joshua Radin- "Do You Wanna"... the tune of it with the calming melody seems right to me for the end of last chapter and also "Closer" by Joshua Radin again because of the lyrics and tune this time. Let me know what you think!


	16. The Desperation

**Author's Note**: Hello Everyone! I guess here's the part where I'm supposed to tell you not to worry because I'm still alive and blah, blah, blah, insert lame excuse/ legitimate excuse here. BUT, how about we skip all of that and just get to the point?

Seriously, I am truly sorry for taking so long for an update and unfortunately I can't seem to get into my "writing groove" just yet but never fear! I hope to get back into it soon enough (hopefully! Keep your fingers crossed.) Thank you for sticking with the story as always and providing awesome reviews that make me want to continue.

As a heads up, I didn't really edit this as thoroughly as I usually do.

Leave me awesome reviews? Please?

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Chapter 16: The Desperation

He couldn't believe it. Not _him_. Anyone but _him_.

Although Relena always told Trowa she loved him and was happy to be with him, every once in a while, whether it be something he said or a small gesture, Trowa would glance over at her and see a distant look on her face, as if she was remembering another time, a past event.

And at those moments, Trowa was positive she wasn't seeing him. No. At those moments Relena was seeing Heero.

So now why? Why did _he_ have to return? Not only that but _he_ was assigned to protect Relena while Trowa was off, who knows where, perhaps hundreds of thousands of miles away on a seemingly impossible mission.

Though he didn't want to admit it, a part of Trowa believed that even if he were but a mile away, Trowa would always lose her to _him_.

He pressed a palm over his face, covering his eyes as he fisted his bangs with his long fingers. Why now?

_Relena_

_- - - - - -_

"No, Millicent, I don't need help with the papers. Thank you though…. No, really, I promise my arm is feeling a lot better! They took off the cast just the day…. Yes, thank you! By the way, you haven't seen Trowa around today have you? He and the other ex-gundam pilots were called into Lady Une's office this morning but I doubt they'd still be there, right?… Oh, I see… Okay, thank you anyway. Bye." Relena let out a melancholy sigh as her head fell back to rest against the leather headrest of her office chair. Cerulean blue eyes gazed at the ceiling in utter boredom.

She had just gotten off the phone with Millicent. Why did no one know where Trowa was? Usually he stopped by a few times a day to see Relena or come by for a quick kiss… which would always turn out to be not so quick.

Heat crept up her neck as a blush traveled up into her cheeks. She let her head fall forward so that honey-blond hair covered her now heated face as she recalled waking up in the morning with her black lace dress on and Trowa in boxers and a t-shirt.

The mental image that conjured itself up in Relena's head was enough to make the room suddenly 10 degrees warmer. _Trowa standing there in his black boxers, his auburn brown hair disheveled from sleep. As he lifted his hand to scratch his head, his white t-shirt lifted slightly, revealing inch after inch of delicious skin and perfect abs…_

Stop! Stop! Stop!

He had gotten her late for work by distracting her. And she didn't mean just with his looks. Nope. Trowa had been extremely… sexy lately, Relena decided.

But where was he today?!

Was it so bad that she was yearning to see her boyfriend? Her heart seemed to think not with a slight quickening whenever she thought of Trowa and their day together yesterday.

"Argh!" Relena finally vocalized her frustration. Here she was, practically drooling over her boyfriend, who she hadn't seen all day and who had disappeared into thin air it seemed, when she could have been finishing some of that large stack of paperwork that had taken over her desk while she had been held captive.

Sigh, if only her captives had at least been considerate enough to kidnap her while she was at the office, then she could have brought some of the paperwork with her.

Relena almost laughed at the thought of asking her captors to wait a moment while she packed a briefcase.

Her crazy thoughts vanished however, when she thought of the seriousness of the situation she had been in.

Never before had she felt so… so completely afraid. But it wasn't for herself.

Wait, okay, she had to admit that obviously a small part had her worrying about herself but a larger, more apparent part was terrified that she would never see Trowa again, that Demetri would do something to him.

For that time they were apart, her thoughts remained frozen on Trowa. She wanted nothing more than to feel his skin under her fingers, smell the wood and musk scent that was purely him, hear the husky tone of his voice, see the bright emerald of his eyes… everything.

Relena blinked and quickly pulled her thoughts back from that awful time. He was with her now (well, technically, not with her right there) but they had shared many moments together since the incident.

She blushed at an image from the night before entered her head.

_* * * * * *_

_Trowa and Relena had just returned from a fun/ exhausting (depending on who you asked) day of shopping with Hilde and Duo._

_As Relena unlocked the front door and walked into the Peacecraft mansion, she turned around to look at Trowa and couldn't help the giggle that escaped from the scene in front of her._

_She was pretty sure it was Trowa behind her but she couldn't be sure, not with all of those shopping bags covering his face._

_Trowa came stumbling through Relena's front door, her shopping bags draped over his body and limbs as if he was a Christmas Tree and they were the ornaments._

_When Relena and Hilde had said they were going shopping, he and Duo didn't know it meant that they were required to come along as well._

_"Come on, guys! It'll be fun," Hilde said as Relena nodded enthusiastically._

_"No," they both responded in unison, not moving from their position on Duo's couch. The girls had come out of Hilde and Duo's kitchen and the two Preventors refused to turn their attention away from the television in front of them. It was their day off and all they felt like doing was… well, nothing. That was the point of a 'day off' for the ex-gundam pilots._

_"Please?" Relena pouted, walking around the couch to look at Trowa who refused to be won over by 'the look.' He kept his eyes glued to the large screen television set in front of him._

_"No."_

_"We'll buy you something!… Food!" Hilde winked at Relena and she stifled a giggle in response. That ought to work with Duo at least._

_"No." Came Duo's response and Hilde gaped at the back of his head for a moment before walking around the couch and sitting in his lap._

_"Duo, come on. Do this for me and I'll do something for you," she gave him a wicked grin and leaned forward to whisper something into his ear. Duo gulped and half-heartedly tried to shake his head 'no' but the gesture almost looked like a slight nod._

_Trowa glared at his teammate, who he knew would definitely give into his wife, especially since she wasn't playing fair._

_Suddenly he felt two small hands on his back as Relena applied a little pressure. Trowa's eyes shut automatically and he let a groan out. His back had continued to ache since the last mission and she was using that to her advantage._

_Her breathy voice in his ear definitely didn't help._

_"Trowa, please? I need you," she smirked when she saw him grit his teeth as he tried to resist her administrations._

_"Why?" he bit out._

_"I don't want to go alone."_

_"You have Hilde," he reminded._

_Relena huffed. Okay, obviously she was going to have to try harder. Guilt, that was the only thing that was going to work on this boy it seemed. "Trowa?"_

_"Mmm?" he murmured, his eyes closed from Relena's massage._

_"I need you to hold my bags. My arm still hurts a little."_

_Trowa's green eyes opened and he turned his head around to look at her, his hands coming up to grasp her small ones away from his shoulders. "Fine," he muttered, defeated._

_Relena gave his a wide smile and clapped her hands together as she turned to tell Hilde, only to see that both Hilde and Duo already stood ready by the door._

_"All ready?" Hilde grinned as Trowa and Duo stared warily at the two girls._

_Who knew that someone could go shopping for that long?! It didn't seem possible to be able to shop for that long._

_"HOW LONG HAVE WE BEEN IN THIS GOD-FORSAKEN PLACE?!" Duo yelled, slightly hysterical as he and Trowa leaned against entrance way of a store that the two girls had disappeared into a while ago. About twenty shopping bags lay on the floor in heaps around their feet._

_By "this God-forsaken place," Duo meant the mall of course. It seemed as if the girls had dragged them to every store in the four-story mall, twice._

_Trowa didn't answer the now-hyperventilating Duo, and continued to glare at nothing in particular. Relena had tricked him._

_When they had arrived at the mall, Relena was shifting through a rack of clothes, pulling some off into her hands when Trowa tried to take them from her._

_He looked at her confused when she refused his offer._

_"I got it," she said as she balanced a few shirts on her arm._

_"I thought your arm hurt?" Trowa questioned but it might as well as been an accusation._

_Relena suddenly had a guilty look on her face. "Umm, well, don't be mad but… Hilde told me to say that to get you to come. She knew that… guilt would work…"_

_Trowa's jaw literally fell open. "But it's my…"_

_Relena's eyes blazed. "Yes, Trowa. It's your day off but I thought it would be nice if we actually spent the day together! God, sorry for wanting to be… with… you!" She accented each word with a jab of a finger to Trowa's chest and then proceeded to stomp away from him, leaving him alone._

_It was only then that Trowa noticed he was in standing in the women's night gown section, right next to a very revealing piece of lingerie. An elderly woman walked past him and 'tsked' loudly whilst complaining about the modesty of the youth._

_Trowa walked away, scratching his had in confusion as he tried to fathom how the hell two ex-gundam pilots who knew how to repair and pilot gundams, who were considered excellent tacticians, and who had survived wars still managed to be duped into going to the mall._

_So that's pretty much had the day had been spent._

_And here they were now, waiting- ahem, wasting away- patiently as the girls went from store to store, accumulating shopping bags._

_Every so often Trowa would look up at the sound of a voices as giggling girls walked into the store excitedly, followed by their boyfriends or husbands, who always had a sort of martyred look on their faces._

_Their eyes would meet and a sort of nod would confirm that they too had been tricked/ deceived into going to mall with their respective others._

_Suddenly a head of blond hair caught Trowa's attention and Relena emerged from the store, two bags in her hands as she dropped them by Trowa's feet and went on tip-toes, pressing her lips to his._

_Trowa's annoyance dissipated the moment her lips touched his and his reaction was immediate. His arms slipped around her body and he lifted her slightly off her feet, pulling her closer to him._

_A cat call and a "get a room" from Hilde and Duo made Trowa reluctantly detangle himself from Relena._

_When they broke apart, Relena gave out a sheepish laugh as she tried to catch her breath._

_"What was that for?" Trowa's deep voice rumbled._

_"I'm sorry I tricked you. I just…" she played with a strand of blond hair. "I just wanted to spend time with you."_

_Trowa's voice seemed to be caught in his throat. This girl… she finally just wanted him. The girl he had fallen for such a long time ago… Was he allowed to be this lucky? After all of the pain and suffering he had inadvertently caused during the war? After all of the lives that he personally ended… was he allowed this piece of happiness?_

_Before he could contemplate any more, however, he found himself being dragged back to the car and being shoved bags that belonged to Relena. He was soon stumbling up the stairs behind the girl of his dreams. Who had far too many bags for one girl!_

_Relena turned around and saw Trowa standing there, his strong arms balancing all twenty of her bags._

_"Relena," his voice came out hoarse and breathless from holding all those bags. "Where do you want these?" he grunted out._

_Relena grinned. "Oh, you know, anywhere really," she said, waving her hand airily._

_"How… ugh, specific… of you," Trowa's voice muttered and Relena giggled before wrapping her arms around Trowa's waist from behind, startling him into dropping the bags._

_"Thank you," she breathed into his ear, causing him to shiver._

_She felt his posture stiffen. "For what?" he asked._

_"For everything, Trowa." She loosened her hold on him and let him turn around. His height caused him to tower over her and she found herself, again, admiring his broad shoulders and lean, but muscular chest._

_"It's I who should be thanking you… thanking you for forgiving me after I acted like such a…"_

_"A jerk?" Relena supplied with a grin._

_Trowa feighed hurt for a moment as his hand came to rest over his heart. "A jerk who nonetheless held your twenty bags for a good six hours just to 'spend time' with his girlfriend."_

_Relena's eyes gleamed with mischief and Trowa quirked an eyebrow at her. "Not just to 'spend time' with his girlfriend," Relena corrected, a slight pout on her lips._

_"Oh really? And what, may I ask, did this 'jerk' receive besides that?" He questioned._

_But Relena had already dropped to the floor as she searched through the dozens of bags, trying to find something. "Ahah! This, my dear boyfriend, is what you have earned besides getting to spend time with me," she added with a flip of her honey-blond hair._

_In Relena's hands was the lingerie that Trowa had been standing next to when they had fought. Suddenly the room felt a tad bit warm and Trowa found himself pulling on the collar of his shirt._

_A giggle reached his ears and he blinked only to find that Relena wasn't in front of him any longer. He spun around on his heel and spotted a flash of blond hair race towards the stairs leading upstairs._

_She raced ahead of him, laughing gaily, not bothering to see if he was close behind or not._

_Before she had even reached halfway up the stairs, strong arms were around her waist, grasping her and pulling her back into a firm chest. Trowa expertly shifted Relena into his arms as he climbed the remainder of the stairs two at a time._

_Throwing her arms around his neck, Relena threw her head back and laughed. Everything with him was just so… simple and carefree._

_Sure, she knew it was cliché and cheesy. But cradled in his arms, she felt like the world could throw whatever at her and she could take it as long as she had him there with her. Had she ever felt this way before, she wondered for a moment before she was thrown unceremoniously onto her plush bed._

_"Hey!" she complained as Trowa climbed onto her, his warm body immediately silencing her. But more than that, it was his sudden proximity that had her speechless._

_It was moments like these that she would rather stay inside her room forever, if forever meant that she could always be like this with Trowa._

_"You are such a pain sometimes," he said with a cheeky smile as she pouted and threw her arm to whack him on the shoulder._

_Catching her small hand in his larger one, Trowa pulled her towards him so that their faces were inches apart._

_God, he was gorgeous._

_His emerald eyes, ones that were hidden behind a generous wreath of brown bangs, shone mischievous. They were always so emotionless, so serious… but with her… a fire seemed to ignite in them. The way they sparkled…_

_Her hand moved on its own as she moved his bangs out of his face, looking intently into his eyes._

_"What?" He finally said, a small smirk that was invisible to anyone who didn't know him appearing on his thin lips._

_Relena was silent still but soon realized that he was staring at her, openly grinning now. Cocky jerk, she thought as she smiled wickedly and gave his shoulders an unexpected push._

_Surprise lighted his features as he stumbled off her and onto the bed. She was gone in a flash, the bathroom door closing the only indication of her speedy departure._

_He sighed and closed his eyes, a smile working back onto his face. When had he ever felt so good, he wondered. Was there ever a time he felt so… so… happy?_

_The door opened and Trowa promptly straightened up from his lying position on Relena's bed. His elbows propped up as he stared- gaped- at the sight in front of him._

_Sure, Trowa and the other ex-gundam pilots had inhuman patience it seemed but even he could only exercise restraint for so long…_

_Relena had put on the outfit she had picked. Her creamy skin contrasted with the black lace dress that stopped mid-thigh and had thin spaghetti straps holding it up. Little pink flowers scattered the bodice of the dress._

_"Well? What do you think?" She gave a light twirl and mock-posed as Trowa continued to gap at her._

_"Beautiful," he finally said in a breathless voice and Relena's eyes widened before a smile graced her features._

_"You know, it's so hard to tease you because you say something incredibly sweet like that and it takes all the fun out of it," she joked._

_Trowa rose a brow and smirked as he lifted a finger and gestured for Relena to come closer._

_Feeling playful, Relena shook her head and mimicked his gesture. Shrugging, Trowa pulled himself off the bed and sauntered, that was the only way to describe his movements, over to where Relena stood. With every step back she took, he took two forward._

_His form towered over her and it was only after her back hit the wall that Relena realized he had her trapped. "No where to run, beautiful," his husky voice whispered and Relena swore her heart skipped a beat. Trowa's hand wound around her wrist and with a slight tug, Relena fell into his open arms._

_"Now, was that so hard?" Trowa grinned down at her through hooded eyes._

_Before she could retort, he had his warm mouth clamped down on hers, making her melt immediately into his strong chest and clutch his strong shoulders._

_She may have thought it before but she really couldn't help reiterating it every time; there was nothing like kissing Trowa. Nothing could compare._

_It was like she ran out of air and it suddenly wasn't a necessity to breath. She would rather kiss him then have to stop to breath. Her entire form held onto him like a lifeline, her arms moving to wrap tightly around his neck. Without thinking consciously about it, she always lifted herself onto her toes, wanting more of him. Her fingers loved to play with the soft hair at the base of his neck. The sexy groan that left his mouth had her pulling him even closer to her._

_Somewhere along the way, she found herself on her bed once again, this time on top of Trowa as she rid him of his signature dark blue turtleneck, her small hands already on his chest, holding him down as he leaned forward to meet her lips once again._

_"Patience is a virtue, Trowa," Relena grinned, wagging her finger at him in mock disapproval._

_"One that I don't possess," he whispered huskily back at her as she let him lean forward, his hands grasping her forearms and flipping them over as he pressed his mouth to hers in a gentle and slow kiss._

_Bright rays of sunlight filtered through the curtains of Relena's room, waking one of the two occupants on the enormous bed._

_Scrunching her eyes shut, Relena tried to block out the (annoying) blinding sunrays as they warmed her face and woke her body. She tried burying her head into her pillow but was slightly surprised when she felt something warm._

_Blinking slightly, she pulled herself up a little and couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. Trowa was still sleeping soundlessly next to her._

_She didn't think she had ever seen a sight more beautiful than what lay in front of her eyes now. She loved watching him sleep._

_Trowa was turned on his side, facing Relena, one of his arms still thrown across her waist as he held her even in sleep. His chest lifted gently with each breath he took and his light brown hair was slightly tousled._

_Relena touched his cheek gently. "Wake up, sleepyhead," she whispered in a sing-song voice._

_Trowa's eyebrows furrowed slightly before his eyelids stirred. Weary emerald eyes met hers and she found herself taking in a deep breath. They were so magnificent and clear. None of his emotions were hidden from her in them._

_"What time is it?" he mumbled in a throaty voice that had Relena smiling._

_"Almost 7:30," Relena replied as she slid out of the enormous bed, fixing her little dress that she had fallen asleep in the night before._

_She turned to see if Trowa had gotten out of bed but he was staring at her with a lazy sort of smirk on his face. "What?" she asked, wanting to know what was so amusing._

_"I'm not sure if it's possible to wake up looking like that," he said with a smile and she blushed. "Come here."_

_Relena shook her head. "No. We have to get ready for work."_

_"We have a half hour before we have to start to rush," he replied as he sat up in bed, the sheets falling off to reveal a toned chest and black boxers._

_She blushed and turned away, although she had seen the sight many times._

_A warm hand grasped her wrist as he pulled her back to the bed. "For a little while longer," he said._

_Relena tried to resist, laughing when he finally used more of his strength to grab her and hug her to his chest as he closed his eyes. "It's not like you to be lazy, Trowa," she breathed on his neck and loved the shivers on his body._

_"Who could blame me after all the intensive labor from yesterday?" he replied._

_"Trowa Barton!" Relena scolded, pulling herself away from him for a moment to smack him playfully on the arm. "We did nothing but kiss because of you and your idea that we should only sleep together when it's the 'right moment!'"_

_He laughed and propped himself on his elbows, looking at the girl in front of him, who was pretending to pout. "When it's time, nothing will stop us," he said so seriously, Relena dropped her childish antics and blushed deeply. "And I was referring to having to carry all of your bags yesterday as intensive labor," he added, increasing the growing blush on Relena's face._

_Before he could make a grab for her again, Relena jumped out of the bed and threw Trowa's white shirt to him. "Here, put this on, Casanova."_

_His eyebrow arched in amusement. "Why? Am I distracting you?"_

_"Yes," she answered honestly. She took out a white towel from the closet and turned towards the bathroom._

_As her fingers closed around the cold brass of the door, Trowa suddenly pounced up from the bed and grabbed Relena around the waist, walking towards the large bed again as the girl in his arms complained about being late for work, trying to keep the smile off of her face._

_* * * * * *_

She felt like she needed to see him. Truth be told, Relena was feeling a little selfish; she ached to press herself close to his warm body and feel safe again. She wanted to play with his unbelievably soft brown hair and smell his familiar masculine scent on his skin.

Sighing deeply, Relena stole a glance at her clock. Perhaps a little, teensy weensy break wouldn't hurt, right? If there was anything important Millicent could always just cover for her or something.

Weighing the pros and cons as thoroughly as she could without being completely biased (though it was hard to be unbiased when a pro of leaving was finding Trowa and a con was a pile of paperwork,) Relena's hand closed around the brass doorknob as she yanked open her door and strode out into the building, trying to reassure herself that it was no big deal that the Vice Foreign Minister wanted for once in her life, a break to spend with her boyfriend.

- - - - - -

A half hour later and Relena was ready to jump on top of a desk and scream Trowa's name out. Although her position required numerous amounts of patience, she found that she had used up her quota on paperwork.

She must have looked everywhere for Trowa. _Where was he?_

Her heels clopped down on the shiny tiles as she waved a hand to the secretary at the front desk before striding into the Preventor's main office area. A long time ago she had been too worried that she would get in their way if she came searching for Trowa here but after many (and she meant _many_,) assurances from Duo, Quatre, and Trowa that the bottom floor was simply for office work and no vital events occurred there that would require absolute concentration, she had come in shyly one day to find out for herself.

And she was _definitely_ no longer anxious about disrupting anything vital. People walked back and forth around her casually, dropping papers into nearby cubicles and offices that lined the walls. Fax machines made the same annoying buzzing noises that they did in any other office. Snippets of conversations and office-gossip plagued the air.

Yep, nothing to be intimidated by… especially when Duo had strutted out of the men's bathroom with a piece of toilet paper attached to his shoe and the various women on the floor all stopped to swoon.

She giggled into her hand at the memory and walked causally around the floor, looking for any signs of Trowa and hoping that he wasn't upstairs, which truly was off-limits to anyone who wasn't a Preventor personnel. The clop of her heels disappeared as she stepped onto the carpeted floor.

Suddenly, she saw Lady Une's door open and Trowa stride out, the muscles in his body flexing from the simple movement. The room suddenly felt hotter and stifling. Relena felt her pulse quicken as she gazed at the object of her thoughts all morning. Around the floor he seemed to have the same affect as several women stopped their work to sneak a look at the handsome Preventor from around their cubicles. In a not-so-subtle move, several women stuck their heads out of their offices and sighed as they locked their gazes on him.

Trowa didn't see Relena, who was standing in the opposite direction from him. Long, confident strides had him close to the exit when Relena realized she needed to get his attention before she lost him again.

She quickly called out to him. "Trowa! There you are! I've been looking all-"

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as Trowa turned to look at her. Smoldering dark green eyes locked onto her. He was in front of her in a flash as both of his warm, calloused hands cupped her face and pulled it towards his.

His lips crashed down on hers and the kiss was desperate. Relena couldn't think at all. Not with Trowa's lips locked onto hers. Not with the heat of his body making her push herself closer to him. Not with the masculine show of possession that seemed to emulate from the way his hands left her face to wrap around her body, pulling her (if it were possible) closer to him.

Suddenly something wasn't quite right.

Trowa kissed Relena fiercely, almost violently, tilting her head back because of his height until only his arms, which were wrapped around her securely, kept her from falling onto the ground.

It was somewhere in between there that Relena was able to piece together her first coherent thought; Trowa was kissing her like he had never kissed her before.

Before she could contemplate anymore, just as quickly, he pulled his lips away from hers, turned on his heel, and walked away out the exit.

But not before Relena was able to grab a glimpse of his eyes. And she didn't like what she saw.

Although his kiss was demanding and brutal, his eyes held vulnerability in them. It was as if he was desperate to tell her something. And she just couldn't figure out what it could possibly be.

Relena's mind was completely focused on Trowa's strange behavior. He wasn't usually one to show that much public displays of affection but his kiss had been so urgent and passionate. She ignored the stares from the other workers. All the women in the office looked at the area where Trowa had left wistfully.

Her small fingers reached up to trace her lips.

_Trowa._

* * *

Well? So how was it?! Review and I'll take it as your gift for me for the holidays haha!

As a heads up, because I feel like I am far too lazy at the moment to keep it a surprise, there will be more Heero (as in real Heero and not Relena's imagination) in the coming chapter.


	17. The Bodyguard

**Author's Note: **Hellooooo Everyone! I hope everyone's holidays are going well! This chapter is a 'Happy Holidays' gift from me to all the readers and fans! Thank you so much for sticking with the fic! I know it's been a long time since I have been able to update. Unfortunately, I still cannot tell when updates will come; just know that they _will_ come.

Can everyone who reads the fic, **review** it as well? Please? After updating one of my other fics, I received so many 'hurry up and update' reviews (and such along those lines) that I actually ranted to please NOT leave them. I've already made it clear that I don't know when I will be able to update because I am so busy, so let's just not keep asking for a quick update or asking when the next one will come etc. Frankly, it's irritating and quite a few other reviewers and authors told me they get annoyed from the same kind of messages. Let's keep the reviews to actual reviews and if you must add something at the end, how about 'can't wait for more!' or 'looking forward to more!' Again, end rant.

Thanks again to everyone who has stuck with this fic. This chapter was originally going to be short, because I honestly had basically no part of it written and had no idea where I wanted to go with it, but somehow became one of the longer chapters! Crazy, I know. Anyway, enjoy and please **please** remember to review!

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**Chapter 17: The Bodyguard**

His strides were sure and confident but inside, a war was waging in Trowa's head.

Heero was going to watch over Relena?

Of all the people, why him?

He was almost exactly like Trowa; a loyal soldier, stoic, able to control his emotions, the list was endless.

Oh and not to mention they also shared a preference for the same woman: Relena Peacecraft.

But there was one important contrast, a small detail Trowa often liked to overlook: Heero was Relena's first love.

Even if Relena didn't say anything, even if she denied that she had feeling for him still, Trowa knew. He knew feelings like that, especially from someone like Relena, would last forever.

He tried… God, Trowa tried so hard to believe it were possible for Relena to forget Heero, but how could she? Heero was one of his best friends so he couldn't forget him, but Relena… Relena had _loved_ him. Someone like her simply didn't forget the people she once loved.

A slap on the back had Trowa stumbling forward before his perfect balance kicked in again and he caught himself easily, turning to glare at one grinning Duo Maxwell.

"Tro-man! Don't look so serious! I'm sure Relena will be fine. She does have Heero with her after all, right!" He laughed and strut forward towards the aircraft carrier.

"That's what I'm worried about," Trowa muttered. He stared ahead as he watched Duo, Noin, and Wufei walk ahead towards the carrier.

A hand clasped Trowa's shoulder. Milliardo Peacecraft stood staring as Noin passed, her hand gently brushing Trowa's other shoulder as she smiled at the two before shouting a command to Duo.

"Although I hate to admit it, and I _really_ hate to admit it…" Milliardo brought his hand through his platinum blonde hair in an aggravated gesture, "… Yuy is a competent soldier. He'll keep her safe."

His reluctant confession earned him a kiss on the cheek from Noin, who trusted Duo enough to leave him to finish getting the carrier ready with Wufei while she rejoined her husband. "Now, was that so hard to admit?" she teased lightly before grasping Milliardo's hand and tugging him towards the carrier.

Trowa thought he heard a grumble of "yes it was" from Milliardo.

He knew that Heero was extremely capable to watch over Relena. That was never the issue. The real problem lied with aspects that were not written in paper or seen through rank and capability; it was with how Relena would _feel_ around Heero.

Would she return to loving him even after all the time Trowa had spent with her? After all the time they had spent falling in love?

That was _if_ she loved him at all, but that wasn't a path Trowa was willing to go down right now. He had enough on his mind in any case.

He turned to look back at the elevator they had stepped out of to get to the basement of the Preventor's building where the aircraft carriers were held. Just a few floors above was Relena.

Trowa's fingers reached up to touch his lips briefly. He had kissed her and simply left. She was just standing there, a smile on her face as she scolded him lightly for making her search for him when he grasped her tightly in his arms and smashed his lips against hers, trying in vain to convey how much he loved her in that single instant.

She had looked so beautiful in that instant he pulled away from her. Her lips swollen slightly from his harsh kisses, eyes bright and dazzling with confusion and concern flashing through them.

His mind had been clouded with what he had to do, he had just tried to reason with Lady Une, tried to plead with her to let anyone else besides Heero be Relena's bodyguard.

He was selfish. So damn selfish. He should have been thankful that Heero was going to be with her.

But all he could think about was how _broken_ Relena had been when Heero left all those years ago. And slowly, how Trowa finally got her to open up to him and care for him. And she fell for him.

And all of that might change now. She would be in Heero's care for the duration of the mission while Trowa was God-knows-where.

Would she still love Trowa after everything was done and over? Or would her love for Heero reawaken? That is, if it ever left in the first place?

He didn't want to think about it. But how could he stop when she was always on his mind. When he had seen her standing at the Preventor's front desk in the main office area, a vision of her in her black lace dress from the night before flashed in his head. Although they had done nothing but sleep in the same bed, he had one of the best nights holding her in his arms because he knew she was safe and alive with him.

"Trowa?"

Trowa turned to look at his best friend. Quatre was staring at him with concerned blue eyes.

"Quatre? What are you doing here? I thought you would be missing this mission because you'd be recovering?"

His friend scratched the back of his head with a guilty smile on his face. "Actually, I really wanted to finish the mission with you guys so I had Lady Une put me on the mission. She was happy to do it and well... Dorothy was beginning to suffocate me. But tell me, are you alright? You seem a little distracted."

"I-" What could he say? That he was worried one of their best friends, Heero Yuy, whom they had not seen in 5 years, would steal his girlfriend? Trowa felt ashamed. He should be happy that his friend was back. He should be glad that his girlfriend was in capable hands.

But he _loved_ her. He loved Relena so much that it hurt to be away from her, to not be able to tell her where he was going and when he would be back.

Most of all, it hurt to know that she was about to go through heartache again and that she might not be his when they would be reunited again.

* * *

Relena sat in her office, staring at the computer screen and let out a long sigh.

Every since she had returned to her office, she hadn't been able to concentrate.

How could she when she had just run into Trowa after searching for him for the entire day, only for him to come striding past her and suddenly kiss her?

His kiss…

It lingered on her lips. He had never kissed her like that. His lips had smashed against hers, his fingers held her face to his, his bangs tickling her face.

Before she could even respond, he had untangled himself and strode from the room as if he had never stopped in the first place. Relena's eyes were fixated on Trowa's back. She wanted to call out to him, to hold and soothe him from whatever was bothering him.

But by the time she had gotten her wits back after his kiss, he had already disappeared from her sight.

He was always doing that. Appearing and disappearing like a ghost. All the gundam pilots did that. Like Hee-

No. She wouldn't think about _him_ now. _He_ left her but Trowa, Trowa had always been there for her.

What was bothering Trowa? He had looked so shaken up. His mind was a million miles away until Relena had called out to him.

And his eyes… Trowa's _incredible_ eyes were desperate. Desperate to tell her something. Something she didn't want to think about because his kiss and his eyes seemed to be saying one thing to her…

… _goodbye._

* * *

Heero Yuy preferred to make a quiet entrance. Attracting unwanted attention was never ideal for him. Maybe for Duo, who had named himself Heero's best friend, but definitely not for the stoic ex-pilot that preferred to work alone rather than with partners.

He operated better that way for certain missions. Guarding people, for instance, was easier for him to do when he was making all the calls and carrying out all his actions.

Which was why this current mission was ideal for him.

Protecting Relena Peacecraft. It was something that he had done before and he was confident he could do it now.

He tried not to think about the last time he saw her while she was in the hospital and he especially attempted to block the image of when she was actually awake, of her tear-stained face as she tried to cling to him when he left her 5 years ago.

He shook his head slightly, allowing his chocolate brown bangs to hide his striking eyes. It would not be wise to be unfocused. He had to concentrate on his mission.

Heero Yuy especially had to focus when it came to _her._ Those cerulean blue eyes seemed to follow him everywhere. They haunted him in his loneliest hours, her voice surrounding him.

"_You leaving will hurt me more than any other danger… My world will turn upside down!"_

He lifted a hand to cover his face. Had it? he wondered. Had her world changed because of him… or had she moved on, as he had always intended her too.

But without a doubt, his world _had_ changed. It had changed while he was with her and it had scared the _hell_ out of him.

He was a professional soldier, for god's sake! He couldn't just 'lose his edge.' It was his life, it was all he knew and thought about for as far back as he could remember and suddenly with her… his thoughts, even when fighting or during a mission, were not solely focused on his objective. They were filled with _her._

And he couldn't, couldn't understand what to do. So he took a way out so that he didn't have to think of a life where he didn't have to fight. Because that was all he was good for, right?

Lady Une had a few missions available and he took the one that would keep him away from _her._ Far away.

Perhaps she really had moved on. Heero himself had seen Trowa kiss Relena while she was in a coma, his usual eyes dead and defeated during that horrific day in the hospital.

In fact, Heero had always been aware of the other man's feelings for Relena, which was part of the reason he had requested that Trowa be Relena's temporary bodyguard in his absence. He knew that Trowa would keep her safe no matter what.

Whatever the case, it was now Heero's mission to protect Relena until the Black Ice group was defeated. The other ex-gundam pilots had been sent to try to disband the Black Ice group. He knew both Trowa and Relena's overprotective older brother, Milliardo, were wary of Heero keeping guard over Relena.

Milliardo had never been a fan of Heero since Operation Meteor and the subsequent wars that followed.

As for Trowa, well they considered each other 'teammates' and even 'friends' (well, if the ex-gundam pilots considered anyone their friends, it was the other ex-gundam pilots who had fought alongside them.) But Heero wasn't clueless as to why Trowa might be reluctant to have Heero watch Relena; Trowa cared for Relena, maybe even loved her.

And Relena Peacecraft had spent a great deal of her life pining over Heero Yuy.

In fact, it was only after Heero removed himself that Relena was able to notice Trowa, at least that was what Heero speculated. He could be completely wrong in his assumptions. Perhaps Relena always held a secret infatuation for the tall Heavyarms gundam pilot and it only took Heero's absence for them to get together?

It didn't matter to him.

It wasn't any of his business, he decided. And with that, Heero Yuy quickly made his way to see Lady Une. His mission would begin today.

He would treat it like any other mission. It would be completed efficiently and effectively and then he would continue on to his next mission.

That was the only life Heero knew how to live.

Heero entered the Preventor Headquarters building and quickly made his way to Lady Une's office, preferring to use her secret back entrance that she only allowed the ex-gundam pilots to use.

They seldom used it though, except for Heero, when he had been stationed as Relena's bodyguard in the past. Again, his preference to being behind-the-scenes and invisible led to Duo cracking jokes about how the infamous Heero Yuy, pilot of Wing Zero, couldn't handle a little bit of ogling from the women in the preventor office.

Unfortunately, the joke held some truth behind it.

Heero had never been very comfortable with attention because he had been trained to be silent and invisible.

Relena had been the first to break through his thick-walled barrier of 'personal-space.'

But walking through the Preventor building to Lady Une's office often meant walking past the many cubicles of personnel workers and secretaries.

Heero had never noticed the stares before. He would simply walk to Lady Une's office, get his mission briefing, and leave. However, it wasn't until a mission where Heero was with Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei that he was made aware that they were _"ogled" _at.

_The four pilots were gathered in Lady Une's office, awaiting Wufei's arrival so that they could be briefed on their mission._

_Wufei was never late. And he hadn't been that day either but he wasn't as early as he usually was. Being 'on time' for the ex-pilots meant that they arrived approximately a half hour early, if time permitted it._

_When he had finally arrived, Wufei had burst through the door before promptly slamming it shut and resting against it, his eyes slightly wild as he panted heavily._

_Heero raised a brow. Trowa, who had been sitting quietly, his arms crossed and his eyes closed, opened one eye to stare questioningly at Wufei. Quatre had a concerned expression on his face. _

_Duo broke the silence. "What the hell happened to you, Wufei?"_

_Wufei closed his eyes briefly before running a hand through his midnight black hair and stiffly walking to the only unoccupied seat in front of Lady Une's desk with as much dignity as he could._

_He stayed quiet._

"_Well?" Duo pressed on, his face excited at the annoyed expression on Wufei's face that quickly soured further._

_With a bit more prodding, Wufei reluctantly began to speak. "Those onnas… no, there has to be a better word to describe them… they were more like vultures… attacked me," he finished, in an aggrieved tone._

"_Attacked you how?" Quatre asked, alarmed._

_The choice of words had captured all of their attention._

"_They… swarmed me. Some… tried to… hug-" he broke off suddenly, "-embrace me."_

_Duo began to laugh hysterically. "You? Why? What did you do?"_

_Wufei shot him a glare, "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. They're always there watching as we walk past."_

_Heero and Trowa looked at each other briefly, shrugging slightly. They had never noticed anything. Quatre blushed._

"_Of course, I've noticed but they're harmless, really," Duo grinned but quickly amended his statement with a look from Wufei, "Or maybe not?"_

_By now, Wufei looked very uncomfortable. "Someone wrote something… on the bathroom wall, evidently… about me being… available for… a night out," he admitted grudgingly._

_Before Duo could say another word, Lady Une strode into her office to brief them on their mission._

_But when they left her office after, they were uncomfortably aware of the dozens of pairs of eyes on them._

_After that, Heero began availing to the second entrance to Lady Une's office._

He even remembered Relena tease him about it such a long time ago. Her bright cerulean eyes had sparkled as she laughed while telling Heero about how she saw a few young women waiting for him to reemerge from Lady Une's office after he went in one day. One had said something along the lines of "He can be my _hero_ any day."

But he didn't remember the memory because of pun. No. He only remembered it because of the sweet, tinkling laugh that always seemed to return to him at night when he was alone. And clear cerulean eyes that shone even in his darkest hours.

He turned the knob to Lady Une's office and tried hard to clear his mind.

* * *

Relena was attempting to finish some paperwork without thinking of a certain tall, emerald-eyed man but it was proving to be much more difficult that she originally thought.

Suddenly, her door was slammed open and she jumped in her seat in surprise.

In strode Sylvia Noventa.

Behind her, Millicent stood, huffing slightly.

Relena nodded slightly to Millicent and she left and closed Relena's door, but not before glaring at Sylvia's back. Sylvia, of course, didn't notice.

"What can I help you with, Sylvia? I'm a bit busy," Relena gestured to the enormous pile of papers scattered across her desk.

Sylvia didn't seem to take notice that she had barged into the office without an appointment, or even seem to care for that matter. Instead, she parked herself in the plush leather chair across from Relena's desk.

"Oh, sorry," Sylvia said, not apologetic at all. She looked Relena up and down. "My god, Relena! You look _so_ different since I last saw you at that party a few months ago. I heard about you getting caught up as a hostage in Preventor Barton's mission. Don't worry, I'm sure he doesn't blame you for messing things up," she said with excessive sweetness.

"Thanks," Relena replied sarcastically. She really didn't want to deal with Sylvia right now, not when she was worrying about Trowa. She gave out a sigh of frustration and tried to remind herself to be polite and subtle when she tried to throw Sylvia out of her office.

"So, was there something that you needed? I have quite a bit of work to do," Relena said, again gesturing to the work on her desk.

"Oh, right! I was just coming back from the Preventor part of the building and I saw Preventor Barton obviously upset. I just wanted to check that things were going alright with you two. You two didn't break up, did you?" she asked with a innocent eyes.

Relena decided that perhaps subtleties would not work with Ms. Noventa. "We're fine, Sylvia. We're actually doing great so I have no idea what you could be alluding to," she all but snapped.

"Well, I see that someone is a little sensitive about this issue," Sylvia stood up and slipped her long blond hair as Relena grimaced. When Sylvia got to the door, she turned again towards Relena. "Oh, Lady Une wants to see you," she said offhandedly before she opened the door and the sound of her heels faded slowly away.

Gritting her teeth, Relena mustered up a calm expression and left her office, asking Millicent to please lock up. There was no point in her doing any work anymore. She couldn't concentrate anyway.

She had been surprised when Lady Une's secretary ushered her towards Lady Une's personal office quickly and even more surprised when Lady Une herself ushered her _out_ of the area just as fast with a few quick sentences.

"_You might be in danger, Relena. Therefore I'm sending you away from here for a little while. Don't worry, as always, you'll be well protected. Your plane leaves in two hours. Please gather your things from the office, I've already had your things packed."_

And with that, Relena was pushed out of Lady Une's office area, her eyes wide as the door slammed shut in her face.

* * *

Lady Une was not a women who hide from _anything. _She was not a woman who was easily scared.

But when she found out Relena was on her way to her office after Sylvia Noventa went to find her, she panicked a little.

Because sitting in her main office waiting for her to brief him on his mission was Heero Yuy.

Of course Yuy had come unannounced and through her back entrance which, she would never admit to anyone but, she hated because the ex-gundam pilots had a nasty habit of sneaking in as ghosts. Heero nearly made her jump out of her skin when he popped up out of nowhere for his briefing.

Lady Une suddenly remembered that she asked Sylvia Noventa to get Relena. She sprang out of her seat hurriedly, ignoring the questioning look on Heero's face as she quickly closed the door to her office and strode to the main office area where her incompetent secretary was about to let Relena walk through.

Not a second too soon, Lady Une thought.

Although Heero was assigned to look after Relena for the mission, she knew that if Relena was aware of who was watching her, she would no doubt make things a little more difficult.

Which was why she hurriedly grasped Relena and told her the small details of her little 'trip' before quickly rushing her away from her office.

Heero and Relena definitely had issues that they needed to figure out and she wasn't about to sit there and get caught in the crossfire!

* * *

A few hours later, Relena found herself sitting on a private Preventor airplane as a stewardess walked towards her.

"Miss Relena, is there anything else you desire?"

"No thank you. Everything is fine, thanks. When will Trowa be here?" Relena questioned quickly. Lady Une had mentioned that she would be protected. When she had said that to Relena in the past, she had understood it to mean that Trowa would be accompanying her as her bodyguard.

The hostess looked uncomfortable for a moment before she replied. "Your bodyguard will be here shortly."

Relena stared at her in confusion. Bodyguard? They usually weren't that formal but then again, after the last mission and the fiasco that occurred with her kidnapping, the Preventors were being more careful to follow all standard procedures to ensure proper security. Relena shrugged it off and began to pull out the sour candy Trowa liked. They were little gummy dots that Relena had gotten Trowa hooked on after they began dating.

She closed her eyes and got comfortable in her seat. She was starting to feel foolish about worrying so much during the day about Trowa. He was probably just upset about something else. In any case, they would be together now and she would make sure to help him relax.

She didn't open her eyes when she heard footsteps or when she felt someone's presence in the seat next to her.

"Trowa, I have your favorite candy. I put it in your seat pocket," she said with a slight smile.

There was no reply and Relena frowned a little in her seat. Without opening her eyes she reached out her hand to try to hold on to his. He usually offered his hand when they were flying. Relena didn't enjoy flying much anymore and with Trowa, she was at least a little bit more at ease. When she didn't feel his hand on the armrest, she playfully moved her hand onto his chest but was surprised when his hand grabbed hers and roughly pushed it away. She opened her eyes.

"Trowa, what's your problem!"

She gasped.

There in the seat next to her was none-other-than Heero Yuy.

* * *

There you have it! Relena and Heero are united once again! Stay tuned for what happens next! Oh and let's all **R E V I E W,** shall we? Authors love the alerts and favorites etc. but reviews let us know how we're doing! Think of it like those trucks when you're driving that have those signs "How am I doing?" or "How's my driving?" Well... how's _my_ driving? Thanks everyone!


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